A/N: Aurore and Ange rope Nathanael into important business.
The next day back to school was... embarrassing.
Nathanael hugged his books to his chest as students turned and stared at him, some of them approaching for a high-five or a thumbs-up. Chloe, when she saw him, turned up her nose, turned, and stormed away with Sabrina yipping at her heels like a dog.
They didn't treat him like they had Aurore, but...
Heaving a sigh, the redhead finally got to his classroom and sagged into his seat in the back, rubbing his eyes.
"Mon Dieu, how am I gonna get through this week," he groused to himself as he pulled out a pencil.
The classroom filled up slowly as it always did, several of his classmates sparing him a glance or two as they filed into their seats. Felix, when he and Adrien walked in, flashed him a blink-and-you-miss-it smile before turning back to look at his cousin.
Nathanael blinked slowly. Not sure what to make of that.
As the bell rang, his heart skipped a beat when Marinette skidded into the room with a breathy "Here! Here, I'm here!"
A ripple of good-natured laughter went through the room as she sheepishly made her way to her seat. Alya rolled her eyes playfully and offered her an espresso cookie, much to the noirette's supposed delight.
Marinette...
A flush spread across his cheeks as he recalled Ladybug's fond smile and Cat's awkward voice. "Why don't you ask her about it tomorrow?"
He stared at the back of Marinette's head, the light catching on her pigtails and giving it a blue-ish sheen, much like Ladybug's had.
The bell rang for lunch, but before he could call out, Alya and Rose were whisking Marinette away with Juleka following close behind. Chloe gave him a disdainful glance before sauntering out of the room with Sabrina holding her books.
Nathanael gave a sigh, but packed up his things.
"Yo, Nate," Alix called out, stopping right beside his desk as the room cleared. The pink-haired girl raised a brow, lips pressed into an unamused look.
"Where were you yesterday?" She questioned.
"I... I was akumatized," he answered sheepishly, tucking some of his bangs behind his ear to see better as he glanced up with a grimace. "Sorry."
"Oh, so that's why." Alix let out a huff, partly out of amusement, mostly out of frustration. "Man, I waited at your birthday party for an hour before I had to go home. Dad was pissed."
"I'm sorry," he repeated.
"Don't be, it's whatever." With a sigh, she extended a fist with a grin. "It was pretty funny how you chased Chloe around with a giant hair dryer."
Nathanael's face turned as red as his hair. Cupping his hands over his face, he groaned. "Ohhh noooo... I did that?"
"It as awesome!" She laughed at his embarrassment, nudging him in the side with her elbow as he stepped into the aisle.
The redhead rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Now she's really gonna have it out for me. Oh man, I can't believe I actually..."
"Nathanael!"
With a yelp, the boy leapt behind Alix as the appearance of two girls. Alix, being almost comically shorter than him, turned and gave him an incredulous look as he peeked over her shoulder at Aurore and Ange.
Aurore didn't seem bothered by it, still beaming brightly at the two. "Hey!"
"H- hi?" He cautiously greeted, clearing his throat and sweeping his bangs back over half of his face. "What- ah, what do you want?"
"We have something important to discuss," Ange chimed in, the brunette giving him a cheeky grin as she reached to grasp his wrist. Her nails were shorter now, though no less cherry-red.
"Yeah, we need a third person if we're gonna do this!" Aurore nodded rapidly, tugging his arm. "C'mon, c'mon!"
The two girls yanked him away, and Nathanael helplessly hollered for Alix to save him a seat at lunch.
"A... an akuma club?"
"Not just any akuma club," Ange explained proudly, throwing her arms open to the empty classroom, "but an akuma support club!"
Nathanael scratched his head with a dubious frown. "I'm lost."
"We've already gotten things talked out with the principal and Nurse Sissi," Aurore chimed in, hands on her hips. "Every week, we're gonna meet here after school for a quick discussion session about how we're doing and how to support each other through akuma attacks. Since you've also been akumatized, we wanted to ask if you wanted to join in."
The boy's frown deepened. "Aurore, I appreciate the thought, but..."
"It doesn't have to be every week!" She hurriedly reassured, raising her hands to wave at him.
"We just need three people to start the club, and since you're the only other person to have been targeted by Hawkmoth..." Ange trailed off, a hopeful pout on her face.
Oh no, he was horrible with this.
"N- not every single week, right?" He weakly questioned.
"At least twice a month is what the nurse recommended, y'know, just to see how everyone's doing emotionally." The blonde turned a pleading expression on him. "Please, Nathanael? This club could help convince others that we're not ticking time bombs - or that we're gonna lash out!"
"Yeah," added Ange with a twinge of bitterness. "Plus, we were thinking about talking to Alya and seeing if she could contact Ladybug for us so she can sit in on at least one meeting..."
The redhead paused, searching their faces for a moment. Guilt seeped in as he recalled hurrying away from her after her akumatization, and avoiding them both like the plague after Ange's brief attack. He really couldn't deny that he still felt wary about them, but...
"Once a monster, always a monster," Chloe's derisive voice echoed in his head, and he grit his teeth together.
Would it really be so bad to have something like this?
"Nathanael?" Aurore's inquiry snapped him out of his thoughts. She raised a brow. "Are you in?"
He let out a quiet sigh. What the hell. "Why not. Just twice a month, right?"
All at once, the two girls' faces broke out into beaming joy, and he could hardly keep his balance as they began squealing and hugging him, jumping in place excitedly.
His face burned bright red at the contact. "What have I gotten myself into...?"
"What took you so long?" Alix teased as he slipped into the seat next to her at the first table he saw.
"Sorry, just... stuff," Nathanael lamely replied, picking up his fork. "What did I miss?"
"Max was talking about that robot he's been working on."
The boy in question looked up at the sound of his name, and smiled at the newcomer. "Correct. Markov is almost complete - and I've already made sure to get Miss Bustier's permission to bring him to class."
"Wow, impressive." The pasta was bland today. "What does he do?"
"His duty is to help me with classwork, as well as training his AI to interact with groups of people." The dark-skinned boy paused thoughtfully before adding, "Though who knows if I'll be able to keep him in top shape as long as Kim is in our class."
At the mention of the jock, Alix grumbled aloud.
"What did he do this time?" He groaned.
The girl huffed, glancing quickly to where he was sitting near the window with a couple of other students. An older girl was among them, one with reddish hair that she'd seen around the school sparingly.
"Oh, that meathead nearly got us a C on our project," she explained hotly. "If it wasn't for me going to Miss Bustier on my own and showing her proof that I did my half, I'd be in trouble with my dad. It's all because he was falling all over himself offering to do Chloe's project for her!"
Nathanael rolled his eyes. "She seems to be coming up a lot lately."
"Well, when you purposefully make yourself the center of attention all the time..." Alix took a large bite of her food and angrily chewed.
Sooner or later, she was going to be targeted by an akuma again. Nathanael only felt slightly bad at the smug thrill that sparked when he thought of it.
"Hey, um, Nathanael?"
The boy looked up in surprise at Marinette's hesitant smile as she idled beside his desk at he end of class.
"Oh! Uh, y- yeah? What's up, Marinette?" He fumbled.
"Did you have a good birthday yesterday?"
Nodding rapidly, he smiled shyly at her and slid over to allow her room to sit. "I don't remember any of it, but I'm assuming it was the best. I got your card, by the way - I love it."
"Good! I was hoping Ladybug got it to you okay." Smiling, she accepted the invitation and slid onto the bench.
"S- so, um," why was this so awkward? "how did I- I mean, how was it? The date, I mean."
"It was..." She bit her lip in thought for a moment. A fond, almost amused look flickered across her face. "It was a lot of fun, surprisingly. I had a great time."
Relief flooded through him, making him sag back against the bench. "That's, great," he breathed. "I was worried when they told me I was akumatized the whole time. I don't think I could forgive myself if I hurt you."
A wry expression twisted her face for a second, just a second, before she turned back to him with a thoughtful purse of her lips as if to say something.
He watched her intently. The afternoon sun shone through the windows of their classroom, casting a warm glow on the back of her head like a halo.
He almost missed what she started to say. Before he could ask her to repeat herself, she shook her head with a huff.
"No, never mind," she told herself firmly before giving him a bright smile. "I just wanted to check up on you, see if you're okay. I'll see you next week?"
"Yeah," his heart fluttered despite his attempts at keeping calm. Did she notice? "See you on Monday, Marinette."
He watched as she made her way out of the room, Alya's cheerful greeting in the hallway heralding her exit.
With another deep breath, he stood from the bench with his books in hand and a flush on his cheeks.