The Missing Purrincess

Chapter 43: We All Good?

She laughed, looking up at Nino who was flexing his arms.

---Adrien's POV---

I didn't know what was going on, but Nino definitely just went into Master Fu's old house. 

Nobody should be going in there, except for maybe the occasional visit from milady or me. As far as I knew, Nino had never even met the man. Why would he be going in there?

I moved closer to get a better look. All the windows had been closed and curtains were drawn so I couldn't see inside. Only shadows could be seen from the outside. And what I saw confused me even more.

I saw two figures, One obviously being Nino since he just went inside, but the second was more feminine. It had long hair tied into pigtails the same way that Ladybug styled them, and the same way that girls all over Paris now did in imitation of her.

Watching the figures through the curtains, the one that probably belonged to Nino seemed to try to comfort the feminine one, though from this viewpoint it was unclear whether she was angry, sad, embarrassed, or anything else other than just having a general upset stance.

Something small was moving, hovering around them. It's exact size was hard to tell, but it seemed to be about the size of a tennis ball. 

The tennis ball thing landed on top of the head of the female, who picked it up in her hands and walked out of view. Nino's shadow followed past the window and I couldn't see anything anymore.

Maybe Nino was better at keeping secrets than I thought. What could he possibly be doing in there?

I put my hand on the door to go in, when I remembered something not too long ago. Ladybug screaming at me to never follow her again. My face still stung from where she slapped me. Would she approve of me checking this out?

---Marinette's POV---

"Tikki, can I have a moment with Nino please?"

"Nah, it's fine. She's cute!"

"Thank you Nino! You know, this one called me a bug mouse when we first met."

Nino stifled a laugh, sitting down of the floor.

"To be fair, Nino knows what a kwami is. All I knew was there was a bright light then you were flying around my room." I retorted, rolling my eyes and putting Tikki on the table. She giggled a little, then flew out of the room to give me and Nino some privacy.

"Soo. I have no idea why she showed herself to you. She's not normally like that." I clarified,  laughing nervously. 

"You're all good Marinette. The little dude probably just wanted you to have a friend. Besides, I already knew."

I looked down at the ground to avoid his eyes. It still hadn't quite sunk in that Nino knew. And Alya? How would she respond? 

"Look, I ment what I said. You can trust me with this. I won't tell a soul. And if Alya tries to tell anyone else, I happen to know a pretty good superhero who could knock some sense into her."

I laughed, looking up at Nino who was flexing his arms. "I mean, you would work too, but think about all the people Carapace could whack with his shield!"

"Carapace? I dunno."

"I'm just teasing Marinette. Besides, real life Carapace can't do half the stuff I wanna do. No more evildoing for you Mister Agreste!!!" Nino mimed throwing his shield at an invisible opponent. "Ahh nooo! My horrible parenting skills!"

I snickered a bit, trying not to laugh. Nino took notice and ran to get his 'shield' from a spot on the wall and threw it again. "Take that Lila! Now you can't lie anymore! Time to de-evilize!!!'

I doubled over, laughing more than I could ever remember.

"Thanks Nino. I needed that."

"I could tell. You looked worse than when Chloe tried to steal your diary."

I rolled my eyes. Chloe was the worst. At least after lie-la. 

"I know what you're thinking, but she has been a bit better since... You know. She stuck up for you when the class divided."

Huh. Maybe Chloe really has changed. Then again... "Last time I thought she was changing for the better, we got Miracle Queen so you know. Two steps forward, one step back."

"Well my dude, Two steps forward, one step back, is still one step forward. It's just more work."

That actually made some sort of sense? "Nino when did you get so wise?"

Nino rose an eyebrow. "Yo it's literally true though. Two minus one... Is one. That's not wisdom, its kindergarten math."

"Nino Lahiffe! The kindergarten king of wisdom!!!" I giggled, bowing to him in an obviously joking manner.

"Seriously though? I promise you're secret's safe with me okay? You're like my little sister. I care about you, alright?"

"I don't know Nino. This isn't just some joke. It's a serious secret with real consequences. It's my life on the line. The lives of my family, my friends, all of Paris is on the line. I need to know you can take this seriously."

Nino came closer to me and pulled me into a tight hug before holding me at arms length and looking me in the eye.

"Marinette, you trusted me once. You saw the best in me and gave me a major responsibility in Carapace. I won't lie to you and say that wasn't a lot of pressure. It was. Sometimes, I almost cracked and told someone, but I didn't."

"I'm not gonna sit here and pretend I know what you're going through either. You have so much on your shoulders it's a wonder you haven't cracked yet. That's why you left isn't it? To get away from some of the pressure?"

I opened my mouth to respond when Nino shook his head.

"I broke your trust once. I believed Lila over you, and that is the biggest regret of my life. I'm not some wise genius leader. I'm human. But so are you. Sometimes, humans need another human to relate to and connect with. Someone to trust. And when you trust someone, you get hurt. That kinda goes with the territory. But from now on, I promise that I will try my best to not break it again. Just please give me that chance."

"I guess I don't really have a choice huh." I tried to shrug off the details of Nino regaining my trust, but It lingered heavily. Would I, had he not have figured everything out, still have forgiven him?

"Dude, trust is a gift. You don't give someone a gift unless you want to. Or ya know, it's their birthday or something. Point being, it's not my birthday, and you don't owe me a gift."

Would I have forgiven him. Who knows? But maybe, that doesn't matter. Because this Nino was there now, asking for me to give him trust rather than demanding it from me because he felt he deserved it or needed it. 

And all he's done since finding me is continue to keep my trust. He clearly kept me a secret, or else Alya would be all over me by now. He made me laugh when I needed it, comforted me, and treated me like a friend. Not someone to avoid at school.

"You know Nino? I kinda missed having a friend from François Depoint."

I could see Nino's face light up for a moment before he reigned it back in.

"So we all good then?"

"Yeah. We're all good Nino."