Miraculous: Tales of Scarlet Beetle and Ikati Black

🦋Simon Says🃏

Lo and behold! I am not dead!

"Welcome back to everyone's favorite live game show: The Challenge!" Alec greets the audience with his usual pristine white smile. "You all know the rules, but for the newbies, here's the sitch! We call up several nominated lucky guests to the show, and based on a challenge set up by the viewers, they have to show their unique talent to a randomly selected celebrity guest to get the reaction the viewers want! You lose, then suffer total humiliation! No pressure!"

Some pressure on Nino's end, because he was one of the "lucky" guests for this week's show! He doesn't want to do this, but playing his music on live TV could get him recognized and make or break his career!... Well, so far, he's deejayed Sweet Sixteens, Mitzvahs, and the occasional wedding on a weekend, but still! Who the hell even nominated him to get challenged by a bunch of random people?!

Marinette's not that evil, Kim is way too sweet to spring that on him, Max has way better things to do with his time, and Alya took one look at Alec and said "Nope." Adrien likely knows Alec personally, and he knows none of his other friends would do something like that. So who decided to punish him for no reason?!

"Nino!" His thoughts come to a quick stop when Myléne grips his hands tight, and he's brought back to reality. He's in the dressing room with his friend, best friend, his third and fifth best bros, and girlfriend. There's a timer on the wall counting down the minutes until his utter humiliation, and his equipment is resting on a cart, ready to be rolled into the studio where his pants will probably drop on live television because he didn't wear a belt!

'Why didn't I wear a belt?!'

"Okay, I need you to calm down for me," she gently coaxes, looking him right in the eye. "Can you do that for me?" Nino gives a jerky nod of his head, but it's enough for her. "Okay, good. Let's just breathe; breathe like when we're meditating, okay?" She takes a few deep breaths in and out, trying to get him to follow her patterns. Nino's breathing comes out choppy, but he manages. "Good. Okay."

"It's not too late to back out, you know," Marinette offers with a sniffle. Alya holds her phone up she Nino can see her better.

"N-no way. Alec already said my name, people are expecting me, and if I back out, the guy's never gonna live me down!" Myléne mutters a few unsavory things about the man under her breath. "I've got to do this!... Or I could fall down the stairs. Where are the stairs?!"

Alya and Adrien grip his arms when he attempts to escape.

"Not happening." Alya tilts her head toward the couch. She and Adrien have Nino sit back down while Ivan guards the door. "Nino, you are going to do amazing out there." Alya sits next to him and takes his hand. "And Alec can go and... I don't know, sit in honey. Let the bugs get him." Marinette snorts out a laugh. "You're the best and only deejay I know, so in three minutes, get your ass out there, do that mother-fucking challenge, and show this whole city the amazing guy you are!!"

The moment would be sweeter without all of his friends in the same room, but it was still sweet nonetheless. So, feeling more determined, Nino squeezes Alya's hand, a silent message to let her know that he's okay. "I will."

"YEAH!" Myléne cheers and pumps her fist in the air. "And while you're at it, maybe humiliate Alec a bit. Some backhanded compliments if you can pull it off." The tension in the room begins to dissipate as the group starts laughing, coming up with all the ways Nino can subtly flip Alec off. "Stare him dead in the eye and readjust your glasses with your middle finger! It'll be perfect!" When she's in a smaller group of people, Myléne can be surprisingly bold.

Alya nods in agreement before demonstrating with her glasses. "A timeless classic. Rude, but also sophisticated."

"Well, that makes insulting him in another language look like amateur hour," Marinette snarks. "But, hey, flip the guy off. You do you."