Adrien and Nino made their way through the thick underbrush, cursing as they were scratched and poked by branches galore. They had known they couldn't stay at their new haven much longer, the two had already been a burden on the girls enough. So reluctantly, the boys left back to their city camp, and discussed their next plans.
"So like Agreste, do you think they would mind if we packed up and set up our own camp next to theirs? I'm tired of living in the city man, it smells awful and we're always in danger. Mari and Alya got a pretty sweet setup!" Nino said, staring off into space imagining the bright future. Adrien imagined it and thought it sounded great, being in nature with little worry about corpses, plus being near their new friends.
"I don't think they'd mind, as long as we provided for ourselves. I still feel guilty about eating some of their food this morning." Adrien said, rubbing his stomach that served as a reminder to their meal.
"Yeah me too, but I was about to pass out from hunger! At least we gave them fish to make up for it." His friend responded. Adrien thought about the idea of returning more and more, and it seemed like a perfect plan.
"Yeah that was a good idea. I think when we get back to camp we should scavenge a ton, pack up our stuff, and head out there again and propose forming a survivor group. We'll have more protection that way, I don't like the thought of just the two of them out there all alone. It makes me uneasy." Adrien trailed off, lost in thought.
"That sounds like a great plan dude! That's exactly what we'll do! But I'm pretty sure they can handle themselves, admit it, we were both shitting ourselves when Alya held the shotgun on us!" Nino laughed. "Hey, maybe you could even invite your Ladybug friend to join the group as well." He added in, waggling his eyebrows at Adrien. Adrien gasped, having forgotten all about that.
"Oh no! I'm supposed to meet her today! Nino we gotta get back to camp quickly, I don't want her to think we died or something!"
"Whoa chill Agreste, we'll be back before noon. You'll be able to meet your lady friend in time. But besides her, didn't you think our new friends were cute?" They both laughed at this, relaxing into the bro talk that used to be so common between them.
"Yeah they were. I noticed you eyeing Alya a lot bud." Adrien teased his friend, punching his arm lightly.
"Okay, you got me, I think she's more than cute. Maybe it's just 'cause they're the first girls our age I've seen in a while but Alya is pretty damn awesome if I do say so myself. And don't try to deny you thought Marinette was real pretty as well." He replied, punching Adrien in the arm in return.
"I mean yeah I think she's pretty, but I just keep thinking about Ladybug…" He trailed off dreamily.
"Well you'll get to see her today loverboy. Now let's hurry up and get back to camp dude, these woods are giving me a creepy feeling." They quickened their pace and jogged the whole way back. When they arrived, they saw their camp had indeed taken on a few unwelcome visitors. It was only two of them, shambling around with the skin sloughing off their bodies. The boys hesitantly approached the entrance to the alley, and prepared themselves.
"I'll get the one on the left, you go for the right." Adrien whispered feverently to Nino. Nino nodded and they both took out their hunting knives, not wanting the noise of a bullet to draw the attention of more of the creatures. Counting down on his fingers, the two stealthily approached them from behind. His heart beat frantically in his chest as he took a deep breath, then with one swift movement, Adrien slid his knife in the back of the body's head like butter and the thing collapsed. Gooey bits of brain matter and brown blood were left on his knife to which he grimaced, and he glanced over to see that Nino had already done the same to the other zombie. No matter how often they did this, the feeling was always the same. The terror and disgust when you realized this was once a person, someone who had people who loved them and cared for them, and you just bashed in their brain. They disposed of the bodies quickly, dragging them out of the alleyway and assessed the damage on their camp. Nothing seemed out of place besides the fact that their tent had collapsed. Working together, the boys put their camp back together exactly how it had been. Then checking the time, Adrien realized he needed to go.
He found his coat, cat ears, and goggles exactly where he had left them and put them on as quickly as possible. He ran his fingers through his hair, uncharacteristically nervous about his appearance. Nino noticed and snickered at the tall blonde, but didn't say anything. After making surehe had everything he needed, Adrien grabbed his scavenging pack and practically ran to the meeting place, eagerly awaiting the second when he would see his Lady again.