Five minutes. That's how long Ladybug had before she lost her transformation. Régalien glanced back at the Arc de Triomphe they had left behind, then towards the direction he felt Master Fu's string lead. He wasn't sure whether five minutes were going to be enough.
He wasn't sure about much right now.
Ladybug was two rooftops ahead of him, her sob now silent, and her body rigid. Blood covered her arm and the side of her waist, where Chat Noir had curled up against her. Now he was limp in her arms, disheveled hair waving with each jump and turn she executed. To Régalien, he was just fear, harsh and bright against the rushing colors of Paris.
It was all his fault.
Four minutes.
Régalien's neck stung and burn. Blood stuck his collar to his neck, but he didn't have the energy to do something about it, not when he caught sight of his blood-stained boots whenever he looked down for the next rooftop.
Régalien pulled up beside Ladybug. Anger pulse through her string, almost tangible and burning his palm. She didn't glance at him nor offered a word. Régalien gave her space, though his eyes, like moths to a flame, gravitated to Chat Noir in her arms.
Régalien got as far as spotting the wet blood spread spread over his suit, tarnishing his bell, before jerking his head away. Did he have any more injuries? Was it just blood?
He still hadn't said anything. Régalien swallowed, his tongue heavy with guilt.
Three minutes to go, and they touched down on the rooftop with the lawn chairs. Ladybug used her momentum to get a running start and kick down the door. Her yell echoed down the darkened stairwell.
"Master Fu!" she cried again when they landed on the hardwood floor.
After a harrowing journey through Paris, Ladybug's sob finally broke through. Her arms shook, and she curled Chat Noir tighter against her chest as the hurried sounds of someone running up the stairs echoed beside her wail.
Panic made Régalien move, and he held Ladybug by the shoulders before her knees buckled. Her sadness washed over him, pooled in his stomach to mix in with the crippling nausea and guilt.
Chat Noir gave them a tired smile that was more of a grimace. Sweat plastered his bangs to his forehead. His skin was deathly pale, and the unnatural glow of his eyes turned his cheeks an ashy gray. "Bugaboo, it's okay. I'm fine." He wiggled in her grasp in a weak attempt to get on his feet, until he cut himself off with a muffled yell.
Régalien flinched, drawing back. The strings inside him flexed and knotted themselves around his lungs. "Dude, just hold still. We got this."
Master Fu came up the stairs, glanced at Chat Noir, and immediately moved the coffee table— was that their leftover tea from last time?— so they had a clear path to the sofa. "Here. Quickly."
Ladybug eased him down, almost reverently. The moment he was out of her arms, she collapsed to her knees with an audible thunk against the wood paneling. She grabbed the coffee table to keep herself from wobbling, staining the wood with dark blood. Tears escaped her already red eyes.
"He stopped bleeding, but he slipped into unconsciousness for a minute and—" Her sob garbled her words. Ladybug pulled at her pigtails and screwed her face in concentration. She bowed her head, her voice paper thin. "The Cure isn't working again, and I don't know how hurt he is…"
Chat Noir said something too soft for them to pick up. His arm shook as he tried to reach for her, glazed eyes on Ladybug.
Régalien couldn't take it anymore.
"This is my fault." Darkness encroached his vision, so he paced to keep himself from falling down himself. Régalien kneaded both hands in his hair. The grip was painful, but not painful enough. "I went up against Verglas when it wasn't part of the plan. I had to do something. And.. And…"
And he'd screwed up. Royally, inevitably screwed up.
Chat Noir spoke up, and Régalien bowed his head to filter out the grating voice, not even close to Adrien's, nor Chat Noir's. Stop. Stop. This is exactly what he wanted to prevent. This was the whole reason he became Régalien and accepted Duusu and faced that strange man in the dead of night. The reason he felt their sadness, their fear—
— and that anger, that boiling in his blood that made him act before thinking. Régalien bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. "This is my fault."
"Régalien," Ladybug started. Régalien flinched, expecting a tirade. Nothing came, just a tired, heavy anger from her string. He didn't know whether this, or her silence, was worse. Régalien kept his eyes shut because if he opened them then he would see the blood— just another thing the Cure didn't make disappear.
"If I want to treat his injuries, he needs to drop his transformation," Master Fu spoke, as though from the bottom of the ocean. Régalien turned around, fully taking in Master Fu's somber expression.
Ladybug's hand dropped from the table to sway limply at her side. "I can go downstairs or something and— "
"No."
Régalien shot his head up. Chat Noir's eyes landed on Ladybug. "Please stay. My Lady, please."
Her ashen face grew whiter. Ladybug shuffled closer as Chat Noir's eyes followed, slowly but surely. One of her hands hovered, until it took Chat Noir's hand. He wrapped his shaking fingers around her hand, holding on like a lifeline.
Ladybug glanced from their grip to his face. Fear fluttered over her anger. "Chat, I can't. We can't."
Chat Noir smiled. "I don't want to be alone. Please stay. I don't care. Not now."
With herculean effort, Chat Noir raised his other hand to caress her cheek. Chat Noir sucked in a tight breath but continued. The love Régalien felt from him in that moment was almost too much. Again, he felt like he was intruding on something private, but there was nowhere else his eyes decided to settle. If Chat Noir could feel love while he lay there, bleeding and too weak to walk, then surely his injuries weren't that bad.
Right?
A hollow beep, and Ladybug's fingers wormed their way to one of her earrings. "Chat, you're not going to die. It's going to be okay. We'll see you in a little bit."
Chat Noir closed his eyes, but the tears escaped and ran down his cheeks. "Please, stay."
Oh how Régalien wanted to stay. How he wanted to stay beside Adrien and see with his own eyes that it was just a cut, that the blood just made things look worse.
The worry clawed its way up and stung her his eyes. Régalien furiously wiped them away. He had no right to cry when he was the cause of all this.
Ladybug still knelt beside the sofa. With her free hand, she gripped the table enough for her knuckles to show against her suit. "If that's what you want, I'll stay." Her Miraculous beeped. Ladybug stiffened. Her fear grew even as she tried to hold on to her smile, for her partner's sake.
Chat Noir smiled, his eyes shining enough to focus on her. Then he looked over at Régalien, who was trying to make himself as invisible as possible. Chat Noir hesitated, a mix of emotions flashing through his face and string.
Régalien stood up and bumped into the coffee table. He reached to steady it, bumped it again with his foot, and finally turned to them. "I'll be downstairs."
He brushed past Master Fu, ignored whatever expressions were on the heroes, and took the stairs three at a time. Behind him, Ladybug's Miraculous beeped one last time. Marinette's squeal of surprise pierced him like an arrow to the heart. Her fear split off in branches, swelled and crashed as her mind scrambled to prioritize what was her greatest fear right now.
Régalien jumped down the remaining steps and tried to get as far away from them as possible. Unfortunately, the first floor was as small as the second. Most of it was a waiting area with a small front desk and two chairs set up by the curtained window. Régalien paced like a trapped animal, the carpeted floor muffling his boots but not the racing heart in his chest.
Sweet, kind Marinette floundered with her words, her sobs starting anew. A heartbeat later, Chat Noir's, "Claws in," scraped past his throat, and his yell rang out in the parlor.
Their strings twirled, danced, and thrummed in pain and surprise until Régalien couldn't tell where Marinette began and Adrien finished. His heart and magic ached to hug them, to listen and guide. They were his friends, they were in distress, and both Régalien and Nino wanted nothing more than to be there for them.
Instead he just muttered , gloves pressed against his mouth, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
He should leave. He should stay. Which one was the right choice?
Régalien wandered into the curtained alcove beneath the stairs. Swinging the curtains to the side, he curled up on a wooden bench set up next to a pile of out-of-date magazines. Feeling Adrien and Marinette's strings asphyxiating him, he muttered as the curtains settled to hide him from view, "Wings down." The transformation slid off him, briefly lighting up the alcove in blue, before dousing him again in shadows.
Nino brought his knees to his chest and let his sob tear from his throat, as raw and uncontrolled as the emotions swirling in his head. Without the strength of the Miraculous, the tears kept coming. Guilt, hurt, and the oppressive press of shame piled on and pressed on his chest. He placed his forehead into his knees until his chest stopped heaving. Nino shut his eyes.
"We should see if they're okay," Duusu said near his ear. No I told you so, no reprimand, but even without the full gamut of his powers the disappointment suffocated him.
Nino stayed silent. Duusu rifled through his pockets until she pulled out her bag of carrots.
Above his head, he heard the indistinct words of Adrien and Marinette.
But most of all, he felt them stirring in his stomach. Love simmered underneath the fear of revealing their identities to each other. Friendship. Desire. They were hesitant, prodding the air, waiting for an opening.
Nino breathed in as another sob threatened to escape his throat, but the nausea that had been brewing rose until he leaned over to the floor and threw up his dinner, or what little he'd actually eaten.
Duusu rubbed the small of his back as Nino wetly coughed globs of spits and phlegm. When he finally leaned back, she said, "We need to go up there. It's your job."
Nino dug his nails into the fabric of his jeans. He swallowed the remaining bitterness in his mouth and stared at the faded covers of the magazines across from him. "No, we don't."
Duusu flew at his face, blocking his view. "Don't you care?"
"Of course I care!" Nino shut his mouth when his voice was louder than he'd intended.
She narrowed her eyes, but he buried his head in his knees. The tears came back. Why couldn't he stop crying?
Time slowed to a crawl. Nino pressed his back against the wall when the urge to throat up again tickled the back of his throat. Duusu flew from his head to the edge of the stairs in indecision. Eventually the exhaustion from the day's battle won, and he nodded off.
The screech of the curtains being pulled back startled him awake. Nino jumped and hit his head on the wall.
Master Fu drew the curtain behind him. There was a foot of space between them, and Nino automatically straightened, until he caught sight of the sick on the floor. Nino recoiled and tried to scoot around Master Fu, blabbering, "I'm so sorry! I'll clean this up and— "
Master Fu froze him with a hand on his shoulder. Out of costume, the hand felt heavier, effortlessly pushing him back onto the bench. Whatever else he had to say died on his lips.
"We can clean that up later. I'm only glad you haven't left us." Nino stayed tight-lipped. Master Fu inclined his head with a soft smile. Calm radiated off him and filled the alcove. "I've seen your face, but your identity is still yours."
Duusu reared up emerged from under Nino's hat, tired yet solemn. Master Fu cupped her in his palms, and she leaned against his fingers. The faint shine of her feathers was eclipsed by the alcove's shadows. "I'm sorry to meet again under these circumstances, Master."
Master Fu petted back her head feathers in the way Nino knew Duusu preferred: not too harshly, just enough pressure to soothe and not mess up her plumage. "I'm sorry, too, but it would be foolish to think all of our encounters can be as joyous as the previous one."
Right. Master Fu had been happy Laydbug and Chat Noir had a Peacock on their team.
Nino uncurled himself, bracing one arm against the bench to relieve the ache in his shoulders. Master Fu's eyes bore into his. No mask. Nino pulled down the brim of his hat.
It took five seconds to transform.
A minute to make it up to the roof.
Nino listened to his heart instead. "Is Chat— " He cleared his throat, but the lump remained. "Is Chat Noir…?"
"Sleeping. He's going to be quite sore, but the cut only required stitches. He'll have to settle for staying out of any akuma battles for a while."
Nino exhaled through the pain in his chest. This was good news.
Good news.
"Now it's time for you."
Nino peeked over the rim of his glasses. Suddenly he was aware of the burning across his neck, the ache in his wrist, and the dried blood coating the collar of his shirt. He hunched his shoulders to hide the worst of it, even as it pulled on his injury. "I'm fine."
Master Fu laid down a first aid kit on the bench and pulled a stool from the corner. Sidestepping the mess on the floor, he sat down and faced him. "As the Guardian, I'll decide that. Your hand?"
Nino offered him the hand with the bandaged wrist. Purple bloomed underneath the dirty bandages, now a grimy red, sticky with sweat and the Chinese salve. Did he injure his wrist in the battle? Was he just so shitty at first aid that it just progressed into this hotchpotch of bruises?
Master Fu gently straightened his fingers, and a sharp pain ran up Nino's arm. He hissed through his teeth. Master Fu held his hand firmly but gently.
"Bruised, but not sprained." Master Fu began to undo the bandages to examine the full extent of the bruise.
"I'm okay," he repeated through the hitch in his breath. He just wanted to go home and wallow in his own misery.
Master Fu hummed, rolling up the used bandages. He clicked open the first aid box and picked up swabs prepared with antiseptic. "Chat Noir told me about a kind friend who patched him up after a battle. A friend his age, who probably didn't have much money to begin with. I'm just repaying the favor."
Nino stopped breathing. Master Fu's grip tightened on his arm, holding him in place. Did he know his name? His eyes were sharp but focused on the task on hand.
Eventually Nino managed to say, as Master Fu clipped the fresh bandages to his wrist, "Thanks."
Next was the injury on his neck. Master Fu offered him more antiseptic wipes. Nino gratefully took them and tried to wipe away what blood he could feel and see. Man, did it sting, but he would take the pain over a future infection.
"They want to see you."
Nino discarded the wipe for some bandages. He glared down at the gauze. How much had been used on Adrien? "Why? I'm the reason he's hurt."
"They are aware of your mistakes," and having someone finally say it hurt more than Nino thought, "but they are also aware of how much you care for their safety. They want to put your mind at ease."
Seeing Adrien okay with his very own eyes would definitely ease the persistent pressure on his chest, but he knew he didn't deserve to intrude on their private moment. Marinette and Adrien finally knew each other's identities. If the tangled of strings he could feel was any indication, they still had no earthly idea what to think of the revelation.
Excitement. Fear. Guilt. Desire. It would take more than one just evening to untangle it all.
Master Fu handed him him the gauze clips. "It's okay if you're not ready."
They weren't ready. He would mess everything up just by showing up. Another distraction. Him, him, him. It wasn't about him.
Nino wrapped the gauze carefully around the cut. It was right between the edge of his jaw and just above his clavicle, something he could hide with his headphones. Eventually his parents would notice, and then the interrogation would come. Just the thought of that fatigued him even more.
Nino rubbed his neck, satisfied nothing stung for now. "Are they happy? You know, without the masks. Like, I know it wasn't something they planned on doing."
Mater Fu gripped Nino's chin and tilted his head to make sure Nino had done an adequate job. Nino gasped but it was too late. He was immobilized, held by the Guardian himself.
"I'm sure this will only serve to strengthen their bond," Master Fu said. He let him go and leaned back. Those ancient eyes locked him in place. "Mistakes do not always have tragic endings."
"I'll train him better, Master," Duusu piped up from where she floated next to Nino's shoulder. She wrung her paws together, the first time she had ever seemed nervous or unsure. The fiery energy that always surrounded her dimmed with the need to please. "We've been concentrating mostly on remembering spells."
Master Fu nodded in approval. "As you should. They are by far the most complicated things in the role of the Peacock."
Nino glanced down at his shoes. He faintly realized there was no blood on them. "Duusu warned me to stick to the plan and be on the defensive side. It's not her fault. I'm the idiot who decided to go in."
Master Fu's sigh was like a forest exhaling and finally addressing the world it had observed for so long. He leaned forward, placing the first aid kit on the bench and steepling his fingers. "I'm also partly to blame. I'm sure you've experienced the latent emotions of Seeing Eye after you cast it, have you not?"
How could he forget that anger? It wasn't as burning as Hawkmoth's, but it still lingered in his blood.
Master Fu nodded at his silence. "Yes, those leftover emotions can definitely influence your actions if you let them. It was something I hoped Duusu could instruct you to control, but it seems there wasn't enough time to prepare." Nino raised his head, ready to defend Duusu's honor— she had done her best with what she'd been given— but Master Fu continued. "Every Miraculous has their drawbacks. The Black Cat Miraculous inflicts their Wielder with the occasional bad luck, both in and out of costume. The Ladybug Miraculous has the Cure, which in itself is more of a living thing than Cataclysm or Seeing Eye can be, which means it can be wildly unpredictable."
Wait, what?
Master Fu drew the curtain back and walked out, taking the stool with him. Nino hesitated, then followed Master Fu to his desk. He couldn't go, not now. There was something he had to know.
Why didn't Master Fu just say it? Was this some sort of test? Would Master Fu revoke his Miraculous if he didn't ask the questions he wanted?
They walked over behind the desk, where the area was covered with a bamboo tarp and on top, a low table complete with another tea set— was this one for customers? Essence gave the faint aroma of lavender. Wayzz fluttered at a low-wooden table at the far end of the room, going from jar to jar with varying spices and herbs. There was the lingering aroma of the same salve Master Fu had given him.
Nino wandered to the center table and folded his knees to sit. Duusu trailed behind Master Fu until they both disappeared behind the partition that divided the room. Now truly unable to leave, Nino's eyes trailed to the center of the table.
Upon closer inspection, this tea seat was far newer than the one on the second floor. Instead of raised, intricate designs of Chinese origin, this tea kettle and cups had stamped, plastic designs he knew he'd seen before in some kind of furniture store.
He leaned on the table and suddenly realized he had no idea why Master Fu had come here. Maybe he was just cleaning up after the last customer of the day and Nino was in the way. Again.
Nino kept looking over his shoulder. No Marinette and Adrien.
Master Fu eventually came back with not tea, nor pastries, but dumplings. Nino tentatively took one. It had the sizzling warmness of them just coming out of the microwave.
"Not homemade, I'm afraid." Master Fu sat across from him. "However, I have it on good authority that you didn't finish dinner."
Duusu came back to him and gave him a pat on the cheek before settling down on his shoulder. Nino bit into his dumpling, then tried not to inhale it when he realized just how hungry he was.
"Why didn't the Cure work?" Nino blurted out once he finished.
Master Fu took his own dumpling. "I do not know. Something is drawing its power away from Ladybug, but try as I might, I cannot pinpoint the source, if there is one. As far as we know, Hawkmoth has not changed his methods."
"But the ladybugs didn't even touch Chat Noir." Nino fidgeted with the bandages on his wrist.
Master Fu had been so kind to treat him, even after what he did. His string radiated nothing but patience and a low rumble of worry he'd displayed when they had burst in from the rooftop.
Yet now that the worry about Adrien had waned, giving his mind room for other thoughts, Nino felt there was something else. Master Fu had been cryptic with that comment about the Cure, back at the alcove, and now in the warm light of the lamp above them, Nino realized he was being slowly led to these answers, a lot like how Miss Bustier modeled when the class as a whole was trailing behind.
But why? Why keep him in the dark until the moment everything went wrong? This wasn't school. This was about life and death.
He'd already seen too much blood today.
Nino picked up another dumpling, even as his appetite vanished. He couldn't help but notice Master Fu's eyes trailing his every move.
"When you said the Cure is like a living thing," Nino chose his words carefully, picking at his dumpling with his fingernails, "what did you mean?"
Master Fu smiled, as though congratulating him for following the bread crumbs left behind. "The Cure prioritizes Paris's people first and foremost. The Miraculous and their Kwamis were created for the sole purpose of helping human kind. If Ladybug falls, then at least the people live on. After the people comes Ladybug."
The torn ear magically repaired.
"Then Chat Noir?"
"Then you."
Nino frowned. "Why me? I just got here."
"That doesn't matter. You're the Peacock, the emotional crutch of the team. If you fall, then the entire team is at risk. If Chat Noir falls, then another offensive Wielder can take his place." Master Fu glanced to the second floor, where the old phonograph and its magic lay. "If one isn't active, then one can be activated."
This time, when Nino felt anger, it was not because of Seeing Eye. Nino's fingers dug into the dumpling until he felt the pork inside. Still he sat there, too sucked in the power that Master Fu represented, and he hated it.
"So my bruise gets fixed, but Chat Noir gets torn open and left for dead?" His voice cracked, but he didn't care. He'd entered the battle, thinking he was helping, and only ended up putting Adrien in further danger by bumping him lower on this magical totem pole.
"Chat Noir will be okay," Master Fu had the audacity to say.
"But how is that fair?" Duusu nuzzled closer to him, but her warmth did nothing to quell the blood rushing in his ears. Tried as he might, Nino couldn't look away from Master Fu. "He's been fighting for a whole freaking year, and he gets the short end of the stick? He should have known from the moment the Cure started to act up, a-and the moment I showed up!"
Master Fu took the outburst in stride. "They both knew. When they came back for further questions, I did not hide it from them."
Stupid Adrien. Stupid Marinette. Stupid secrets.
His vision blurred again. Nino ground his teeth, sick and tired of his heart hurting. "They should have told me. You should have told me."
Master Fu raised his eyebrows, expecting more, but Nino was too rattled to say anything else. So Master Fu continued, still with that ever-patient tone that Nino was starting to hate, "Your concentration should be on learning and perfecting spells and not something out of you control. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir came to an agreement about that. Besides you were trying to gain their trust, not disregard their decisions." Master Fu leaned in. "But this is why it's vital we have you by their sides."
Nino stared, really stared, and wished he'd been a fly on a wall for that conversation. Ladybug and Chat Noir listened to Master Fu, did not argue against him, and he wondered if that was because Master Fu was the one that bestowed the Miraculous on them.
"If it hadn't been this battle, it would have been another," Master Fu added.
Poor Adrien. Poor Marinette. Nino's Miraculous had been a complete accident. Master Fu chose two school kids. For this.
It was so much blood.
"Go and rest. You've been through enough for today. I will clean up here."
As though a spell had been lifted, Nino was able to stand up. He hesitated. This wasn't fair. Adrien was hurt. Marinette was crushed. They knew each other's identities, but at what cost?
Master Fu left him there with Duusu. With one last glance behind him, Nino left through the front door with the single dumpling he'd eaten like lead in his stomach. He made it two blocks before Duusu flew up to his face.
"Nino, please, do not renounce the Peacock Miraculous because of this. This does not need to happen again."
Without Master Fu's stare and Chat Noir's life hanging in the balance, Nino could breathe. Dried tear tracks itched. He looked up at the dark sky, not caring how far away was home.
He turned back to Duusu, still waiting for his answer. Nino shook his head. "Dude, I'm not going to quit. I'll just.. work on what I need to work on. If Chat Noir needs to take a break from battle, then who else is going to have Ladybug's back?"
Master Fu could easily pick another random kid for a Miraculous, another person who would have to watch his friends bleed. Nino didn't think he would be able to live with himself if he was the reason some teenager lost their arm or leg to an akuma.
And if he stuck around, then maybe he could convince Adrien and Marinette that Master Fu wasn't the kind, old man he pretended to be. No just Guardian would be subject children to this.
Eventually Nino transformed to return home. His costume and boots were blood-free, and the pain underneath his bandages faded to the back of his mind. He was on auto-pilot, his mind on the constant mantra of ignore them ignore them ignore them as Marinette and Adrien's string teased him. He couldn't bear to feel all of that again.
On the rooftop of his apartment building, Régalien gathered enough courage to send both Ladybug and Chat Noir apologies through his communicator. When he ended up rambling, he sent them, dropped down to his floor, and released his transformation. Duusu offered a comforting paw, but Nino shrugged her off.
He got through the front door, only to realize his parents had gone to sleep. He crept through the hallway without glancing at his phone; the dark shops he'd passed meant it was late enough. Once he was locked in his bedroom, he slipped into bed, fully-clothed, blood still on his shirt, and bore holes into the semi-gloss coat of paint above his bed.
Nino opened his phone— ignoring the time and the notification on the News app— and texted Adrien, "I hope you're okay, man. I saw footage from today's fight. That looked like a nasty hit!"
He didn't know how long he waited with Chat Noir's yells in his ears and Ladybug's horrified face burning behind his eyelids.
Nino fell asleep without a response.
Nino's phone dinged. He shot out of bed, adrenaline on high. The world, now bright with sunlight, spun around him. Nino fished for his phone among the covers, even as the pain in his wrist protested. After yesterday's battle, the throbbing was like needles, extending up to his fingertips and down to his elbow. Was it really just bruised?
Nino finally brought up his phone and swiped to glance at the newest message.
Alya.
His heart dropped, and he hated himself for it. Yes, he was worried about Ladybug and Chat Noir, but this was Alya.
Operating on muscle memory alone, Nino brought up the text box. The stinging in his wrist and the pain in his neck brought up a swath of tears. Bowing his head against the beating in his temples, he read the message. Read it again. He cursed and tumbled out of bed, falling over when he braced himself on his bad wrist.
"What's going on?" Duusu asked from the fern beside the window.
Nino staggered to his feet and made a grab for the darker-wash jeans tossed on his chair. "Lunch date with Alya. Today. In an hour."
The clothes he'd slept in—apart from being blood-stained— were rumpled and noticeably the the same ones he'd worn for school. Alya would notice from a mile away.
Duusu drifted towards him. She began to wring her hands again, glancing from his wrist to his neck. Not even the harried removal of clothes could dissuade her attention. "If you rest today, I'm sure she'll understand."
Nino stopped with one foot in his clean pants and the other reaching for the black shoes he saved for dates. "She said, and I quote, If you don't show up for this date, I will personally climb that fire escape to slap some sense into you."
Duusu flinched. "I see." She flew down to the back of his chair, paws still clasped together in concern.
It was only from experience that the odd silence had Nino glancing back at her. He saw the tears before the sob came out. Leaving his pants unbuttoned, Nino rushed up and took her in his palms. The beginning of an emotional outburst was always the easiest part to control; it was once the sob had a full second to materialize into a full-blown wail that it became near impossible to calm her down.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," he soothed while he petted her head feathers. "I'll be okay. It's just a lunch date. No fighting. No akumas."
Duusu wrapped her paws around herself. No wail today. She sucked in her sob with a quivering lip as she leaned in to Nino's touch. "But are you okay?" she managed to ask.
Nino sighed. The pain in his temples was now an authentic headache. He continued to pet her while his mind found the words. "I'm not okay," he answered honestly. "I saw my best friend almost die and my other friend almost have a heart attack. Every time I close my eyes, I just see the blood."
Duusu's eyes still glittered with fresh tears, but her sob had now turned into a slight tremble all over her body. "I worry about you."
Nino shrugged. "Isn't that kind of your job?"
"It's a full-time job." There was a smile. Nino gave her one last pat before placing her gently on his bed. "Are you willing to explain the bandage on your neck?" she asked.
Buttoning his jeans, he said, "I'm not willing to, but I may have to."
Nino felt the clipped gauze on his neck. He covered it with his hand. It was more bulky than he'd realized, and wearing his headphones around his neck during lunch would definitely raise some red flags. He loved music, loved DJing, but even he had some class when it came to taking his girl out on a date.
In much better spirits, Duusu rolled her eyes and flew to his opened closet. The hangers clattered to the floor like rainfall. A shirt dropped to the floor. Duusu spoke up from the darkness. "You're a Peacock, yet you're unwilling to dress for the part. How about this?"
She came back with a turtleneck he had banished to the darkest, deepest corner of his room.
Nino balked. "It's thirty degrees out!"
Hanger and all, she carried it over to him. She spread out a sleeve and smiled. "But it's the loveliest shade of blue."
"Fine." Nino took it, and Duusu clapped her paws together in delight. He jabbed the curved end of the hanger at her chest. "But I'm going to melt out there, and your Miraculous is going down with me."
Duusu stuck her tongue out.
He liked this lightheaded banter. It was almost like yesterday never happened.
Once his head was inside, Nino remembered why he hadn't worn the turtleneck since Christmas 2014.
It was itchy.
It was worse when it was on.
Nino righted the collar to hide his patch of gauze and pulled down on the sleeves to hide his wrist bandages.
Duusu tilted her head. "You look lovely."
"Just go get my wallet."
Five minutes later, he was ready, Duusu hidden under the neck of his turtleneck. Nino left his bedroom and hoped that his parents were still asleep on this fine, Saturday afternoon.
Nino made it to the end of the hallway when Nadja Chamack's voice reached his ears. "— where the area was cleared by the akuma's cold smoke."
Oh great.
Ninio peeked his head into the living room to see both of his parents on the couch. At the creaking of the floor, they turned and immediately got to their feet. Saliha rushed over to him, enveloping him in a grand hug that pulled at his sore muscles. Nino braced for the lecture he had been dreading since he abandoned the dinner table.
Instead Saliha took his cheek in her palm in much the same way Duusu did. Why was there so much worry for him when he was the one who got out with just some flesh wounds?
"Nino, are you okay?" she asked. She brushed away the hair from his face to get a better look at him.
"I just went to study with Alya," he repeated. He hoped the same excuse would alleviate the sudden lump in throat. "I fell asleep, and my phone ran out of charge."
Saliha let him go, only for Faziel to cross the distance between them and hug him. While his mom's hugs were warm, his dad's were strong, unintentionally straightening him and relieving some of the burden off his shoulders. He was still Régalien, Wielder of the Peacock Miraculous, but in that moment, he felt like his dad could be there for him, too.
Faziel let go and held Nino out in front of him. "We're worried," he said, right to the point. A man of little words.
"Sorry I ran out yesterday. I honestly forgot, and…" He was too exhausted to continue his lie. His headache was a constant pounding in his temples that not even Duusu's magic could alleviate. "I got a text last night that Adrien got hurt in an accident, really hurt, and I'm… scared," he admitted.
His parents shared a concerned look. They had never met Adrien, but Nino talked so often about him that he was like that distant relative you loved all the same.
"Then maybe you should take a break from seeing your friend for a while." When Nino jerked at the mere thought of abandoning Adrien, Faziel amended, "Or find something to distract yourself. Like your music."
"My music?" There were other things more important.
"As long as you keep up with your schoolwork," Saliha reminded.
When they continued to stare as though he would shatter at any moment— and really, he was pretty close— Nino managed a shaky smile. He wanted another hug, but he already felt he got two more than he deserved.
"Why are you watching that?" he asked, nodding to the TV.
Saliha glanced at him over her shoulder. "Because we live in Paris and this happened in Paris?"
Chamack popped on the screen to showcase a clip from yesterday's battle. Despite the goosebumps running along his arms, Nino drew closer until his hands clenched the back of the couch.
In the clip, she was quite a ways off from Verglas, though still in the dry ice mist. The heroes of Paris were blurs of color and movement until either a yo-yo or baton temporarily blew the mist out of the way. In one such moment, Nino saw himself flipping off the hood of the car to dodge Verglas's twin scoops of ice. Then he stopped in front of a frozen victim.
Chamack's voice overlapped the sounds of battle. "Despite the horrific ending to this battle, our heroes fought bravely against this chilling foe."
Wow, she was actually being civil, puns and all. Maybe she wasn't all bad.
Then Nino caught the time in the corner of the news report and realized he was down to half an hour. "Sorry, I should get going. I have a lunch date with Alya."
Saturdays were reserved for dates with Alya, so it was no surprise he was going to one. What was a surprise was that he was cutting it so close.
"It's not like you to be so late," Faziel noted.
(Ladybug's cry rang out through the television, in pain rather than despair, and Nino could imagine the blood running down her neck.)
"I won't be late," he grumbled, but he caught the knowing shine in his father's eyes. Alya's dates were always the first thing on his mind on Saturday morning, so sleeping in and running out at the last minute was definitely unusual.
It wasn't until Nino was at the door that he realized he wasn't grounded for running out yesterday. He glanced back at his parents, and he extended the reach of his powers to them. Even though they were back on the sofa watching the news, their worry, mixed with a dash of frustration still hovered over them, like a noxious cloud.
(On the news, Chamack's voice continued, "The following scenes are graphic, so viewers please be advised." Chat Noir's yell was as chilling recorded as it had been in real life.)
Nino was going to be fine, even if he couldn't tell them anything.
He left before his parents changed their mind. As he was running down the stairs, Duusu wormed her way up his turtleneck. She settled against his bandages, and her magic soothed the persistent ache of his injury like the best hot water bottle on the market.
"It'll be faster if you transform," she pointed out.
Nino shot past the alleyway he usually used to transform. "So people can point and call out the guy who got Chat Noir hurt?"
She poked her snout out. "Do you think the news showed you as the cause of Chat Noir's injuries?"
"Maybe, maybe not, but just because the news doesn't say it doesn't mean people won't think it." Nino clearly remembered how Chat Noir's reputation had taken a hit after the whole Copycat incident. People loved to take an inch to go a mile.
Duusu burrowed deeper when the first pedestrians showed up. Though muffled, her voice still rang with the self-righteousness of Duusu. "The people don't understand that even when mistakes are made, we can move forward and learn."
Nino frowned. Duusu hadn't mentioned when they were going to start the whole meditation thing Master Fu had advised to prevent the after effects of Seeing Eye from meddling his mind. He figured she wanted to wait until after he healed up a bit.
He couldn't help but wonder if there was a more effective, magical way to go about it. Master Fu had hidden so much from him already, after all.
Nino swiped his phone open and scrolled to last night's message to Adrien. No response. Nino's thumb hovered over the keyboard, the worry eating him up inside.
Duusu, still in the folds of his turtleneck, said, "You should call."
"He's probably busy." Nino at least hoped that the Adrien and Marinette reveal meant they were spending time together, rather than awkwardly avoiding each other half an arrondissement away.
Nino started to reach to see if he could feel their strings, then cut himself off by digging his nails into his palms. They deserved their privacy.
Through whatever magical means Kwami worked with, Duusu picked up his train of thought. "You're still part of the team. If the reason Ladybug and Chat Noir are not contacting you is because they are discussing what happened yesterday, then you should be part of that conversation." Duusu then adopted that holier-than-thou voice she sometimes got when she explained Miraculous stuff. "When identities are disclosed among a team, dynamics can heavily change. This can affect a Peacock's spells as emotions fluctuate."
Nino crossed the street at a jog. He was already regretting the turtleneck. He should have just made up some lame excuse instead— people got cuts on their neck from cooking, right?
"Sometimes we can't always be a team," he snapped when he was under the privacy of an awning. Duusu peered out, confused, so he elaborated, "You know how freaking awkward it would be for me to just pop up and make sure he's okay if she's already there?"
"Why would it be awkward?"
"Because this is Marinette and Adrien we're talking about? They're probably blushing and stuttering and hiding their faces behind their hands. You know," Nino rolled his eyes despite how he acted with Alya on occasion, "being all lovey dovey and all."
"So?"
Nino gestured to the air. He decided to chat and walk before it got too late. People were already leaving the metro and office plazas for their lunch. Many were staring down at their phones, and Nino wondered how many had already seen Chamack's report. Their head were ducked, and he didn't have the time to use his powers to focus on a particular person to see if they were worried— or angry— about one particular hero of Paris.
Duusu was still staring up expectantly at him, so Nino whispered, "You can't just barge in when two people are, you know, getting to know each other."
"I don't think they would engage in intercourse if Adrien is still—"
"I'm not talking about that!" A woman shot him an alarmed look. Nino picked up the pace and amended with a rising blush on his cheeks, "They're probably just talking about it and all. Like a really weird date."
Duusu huffed, unconvinced. "Your team should take priority over whatever insecurities you think you have."
Did Kwami love? Nino shook his head. That was a can of worms he didn't want to open. "Think of it this way," he started, knowing Duusu understood calm, careful explanations, "Chat Noir and Ladybug are forming a stronger relationship right now, one that could help the team. If I interrupt them, then that may put a strain on their relationship."
"So this is an extension of the talk Master Fu let them have yesterday? I see…" Duusu hummed, then scurried further down like some kind of magical gerbil.
"I'll call him after my date," he said to the air, in the hopes that would settle things for the time being.
After a harrowing journey through Paris, Nino came upon the restaurant. Le Vrai Paris announced itself in a brilliant, golden cursive surrounded lavender flowers that trailed down the brickwork to the sidewalk. Underneath its name extended a curved, golden awning fringed with black. Even at lunch time, with the sun banishing the last vestiges of winter, fairy lights shone upon the wooden tables and chairs. The idle chatter of patrons floated from inside and from the patrons who decided to enjoy their lunch outdoors.
Duusu stayed silent, until Nino reached the restaurant's outdoor sign. She peeked just enough to spot the patrons, then crooned when she saw the object of his affection. "She looks lovely."
Yes, she did. Among the drab office suits and modest dresses of the rest of the patrons, Alya's bright violet blouse popped, bringing life to the fiery red in her hair and lips. A flared, black skirt complimented the black flats, the toes sparkling faintly gold— Alya always treated any accents tasteful.
Nino smiled a bright, genuine smile that temporarily dashed away the Miraculous business.
Alya caught his eye and waved him over. "Glad the sleepyhead could meet me here in time," she said as he weaved through the chairs and tables. Alya stood up and pecked him on the lips. The warmth traveled down to his toes in pure delight.
Nino cupped her face in his hands. He gazed pass the reflection of himself in her glasses to meet her bright, hazel eyes. "How could I stay away from you?" he asked with a laugh and returned the kiss.
Her lips responded in kind. The kiss was the salve to his heart, the much-needed oasis after a night of clawing his way to safety. Nino poured everything he couldn't say into her lips. His arms eventually brought her closer until their foreheads touched. If he could live forever in her embrace, then he could die happy.
Then Alya broke off with a chuckle. Their noses rubbed for a split moment, then it was over, Nino left with an unexplainable ache in his chest. It was just a kiss, but why did it feel like they were now standing on opposite sides of an ocean?
She poked his chest to get him working again. "I know, I'm awesome."
Nino guided the offending finger away. "Careful now, babe. Don't want to get a big head."
Alya plopped down on her seat, her skirt flaring out before settling on her thighs and legs. She grabbed her phone and jabbed it in his direction. "I'll have you know, Lahiffe, that I am immune to such trivial, mortal things."
Nino sat across from her. His smile grew wider— there was just something about her humor that never failed to tickle him— and he bowed his head. He waved his hand in a mock bow. "Yes, oh great one."
She laughed again, but she cut it off short. Alya fiddled with the ladybug keychain on her phone. "I missed this."
"What do you mean?"
"You've been pretty out of it lately, Nino." Alya opened her hands, gesturing at the tense air between them. "We've kind of talked, but this whole week you've just been there but not really here, you know?"
Having the love of his life sum up the entire situation so frankly left him cold. Nino glanced down at his clasped hands and noticed faint shaking. The edge of his bandages peeked out from the sleeve, stark white against his dark skin. Obvious.
It was only Monday that he stumbled on the Peacock Miraculous, met Duusu, and got his life turned upside down. Not even a full week, and he was already so entrenched in secrets and fights that he felt like he would never escape with his sanity intact. Already he couldn't imagine the magic constantly around him— a second skin, at this point— gone.
Not even a week, and he was using his powers as an extension of himself. The pure concern radiating off Alya was as tangible as the table between them. With some effort, he could know more about the stranger next to them than he ever cared to know.
Nino threaded his fingers tighter and met her eyes. Their cellphones dinged with some kind of notification, but both ignored it.
"I'm sorry, Alya. A lot's happened." The words 'at home' hung at the edge of his tongue. Nino pursed his lips, but there was nothing more to say. She knew him well enough to hear the unspoken words.
"I know, but you have to give me more than that."
Nino leaned forward, closing the gap between them. The shadow of the table's umbrella covered them, separating them from the rest of the world. Faint chatter from the other patrons faded to the background. The clicks of plates and glasses trickled away from his consciousness.
Alya leaned in on her elbows. Concern stirred, then mixed with curiosity.
He could just tell her the truth: he was Régalien, Paris's newest hero. This didn't have to be a Chat Noir situation, where he lied and lied until he was caught red-handed. They were in the here and now. There didn't have to be a cycle.
Nino smiled, but the more Alya stared back, beautiful eyes waiting, the more his heart broke. They were back outside his apartment, him with a Miraculous he couldn't give up and a girlfriend too important for him.
There had been so much blood already.
"It's a family thing, at home," he lied, firmly cementing himself to his fate.
Alya didn't need to get hurt for him.
"And then my parents keep nagging me about my DJIng on top of that," Nino added. His mouth kept on running, piling up the lies in case one came undone. "And I didn't want to tell you about it because God knows I've been complaining about that one for way too long, right? You didn't need that on top of everything you have going on right now."
"It's not really about me," Alya clarified. "I mean, yeah, that interview assignment has been kicking my butt, and Chat Noir getting injured yesterday is just…." She looked away, her concern growing, but not for him. "Do you know how many times I cried while writing that article for the Ladyblog last night?"
Nino didn't want to guess, didn't want to read it, but he smiled all the same. "I'm sure it came out great."
"It's not about that. Something weird is going on with Ladybug's Cure, and with Chat Noir getting injured and Régalien just trying to keep up. I don't think Paris is going to be all sunshine and rainbows very soon."
Nino's heart ached. She somehow managed to return the conversation back to him. "You think Régalien can't handle it?"
"No, he's been amazing so far. I just think he still has a lot to learn, and maybe there's not enough time for him to do that." Alya studied his face. She grabbed his hand and squeezed. "Hey, if that's what has gotten you so worked up, just relax. Run the other way and leave it to the heroes. You don't have to worry about all of this magic stuff."
"And you?" he couldn't help but ask.
Alya smiled wide. "I can handle myself. I report, not fight akumas."
The talk ended there. They ordered, then began to eat. Nino ignored the heavy feeling in his stomach. Even with all of his secrets, he could still enjoy a date with his girl.
Midway through a bite of his chicken, a spark of anger shot into the air, burning and quick like a firework. Nino started, legs coiled to hide and transform, but the anger settled rather than grew. It laid over his head, spread out among the roofs of Paris.
Was it an akuma? Just the butterfly? That had never happened before.
Invisible puppet strings pulled Nino up from his chair. Alya's eyes followed him, then narrowed. "Are you leaving?" There was a sharp edge to her words, a warning he read through the mugginess of the anger his powers sensed.
"No, I mean…" Nino flicked his eyes to the umbrella above their heads.
The television set in the patio flickered on. Both their eyes flew to the waiter with the remote control. Fully aware of how they— and the rest of the patrons— stared, the waiter shrugged, said, "There's a city-wide announcement going on," and left without further explanation.
On the screen, the Grand Paris Hotel spread out behind a raised platform and podium. The stage was empty of entertainment or visitors. Mayor Bourgeois stood behind his podium.
"— and that's unacceptable," he finished a missed statement, offering a jovial smile that didn't reach his eyes. Nino wished his powers extended past the confines of a screen. Mayor Bourgeois's smile continued as he said, "I know we have recently been hit hard with not just akuma attacks but with the news that one of our heroes, Chat Noir, has been injured in battle and was not healed by Ladybug's Cure. His status is currently unknown."
The patrons at the restaurant churned with the beginnings of conversations. The anger over Paris fluctuated into concern. Nino tried to cut off his magic to stave off the growing headache, but there were just too many people watching the announcement to ignore. He stuck on the shore as a wave bared down over his head.
Mayor Bourgeois waited a beat. "It's a tragic thing, but what is most tragic is the fact we do not know why this happened. Why weren't his injuries cured with Ladybug's powers? Why does structural damage remain on buildings once the Cure is gone?" There was? Nino wondered. What had they missed? "Why has the city of Paris been kept in the dark for so long?"
Another burst of anger, buzzing over their heads, making his head ring. Nino rubbed his right temple. The conversations at the restaurant grew heated.
Mayor Bourgeois's smiled grew into a satisfied grin. Even with no audience, he knew what he was stirring.
"And that's where Chloé gets it from," Alya piped up beside him. She pointed at the screen with a forkful of salad. "I'm surprised she isn't there and soaking up all the camera flashes."
Bourgeois planted both hands on the podium and stared down the camera trained on him. "We will not be in the dark. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Régalien: I hereby call a citywide conference three days from now to answer these questions. We will not let this situation escalate. The city of Paris does not deserve another Volpina incident. We will receive answers!"
The anger swelled and crashed into furious satisfaction. Customers around him nodded in agreement. Nino opened his mouth, but there were no words.
Mayor Bourgeois ended the announcement, leaving Nino with the worst migraine in his life.
So this isn't a fic where Master Fu is the helpful, kind, caring and totally transparent Guardian the show makes him out to be because well, he still chose two kids to fight supervillains by themselves. But this fic won't bash Fu or anything. There's just more to his character than in canon.
And here we have a plot thread that will be especially important in the second half of the fic: the mayor and his political agenda of getting answers and keeping Paris satisfied. I have many fun scenes in store for this particular plot thread~
Finally, oh my God this fic is almost at 100K! Thanks to everybody who's reading and enjoying the ride so far! Y'all are awesome!
Fun fact: Le Vrai Paris is a real restaurant I looked up. As to where it's exactly located in Paris... eh, let's not worry about that.