The Weight of Jade

The Hero He can Be

Nino didn't approach right away, he wasn't even sure if he should at all. Instead he just stood, visible but waiting in the wings while his two friends spoke in hushed voices he couldn't hear. Shouldn't hear anyways... wasn't his business.

It was Cat who saw him first, looking over Ladybug's shoulder as he held her and bending down to whisper something, Ladybug turning around to look herself.

Nino froze, instinctively looking away even though he couldn't hide. No one made a move or said anything at first.

'You owe her an apology,' Wayzz said simply, allowing Nino to decide what to make of that himself. He was glad when Nino chose to walk forward.

"B..." he said quietly, still not looking at her, rubbing at his neck with gloved hands. "I- I'm a jerk. I snapped at you and it was really uncool, I didn't mean to upset you... It's not my business and I stuck my nose in and I-..." he sighed, looking up and flinching to see that she had separated from Cat, silently walking towards him until she was only a few feet away. "I'm sorry," he said eventually, the words heavy as he looked into her eyes, red and puffy from crying. "I'm really sorry... I'm an assh-"

Nino gasped and tensed when she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his chest and holding him tightly, her hands wrapping just under where the shield was fastened and pulling him against her.

Nino was stiff, shocked and unsure but he returned the gesture, looking passed Ladybug to see Cat Noir standing a respectful distance away, smiling gently like he was proud of him for apologizing.

"Shut up," she said again, the words softer and muffled against his chest. "You're right... you were right to say what you did. It might have been harsh but... I needed to hear it. And I'm sorry too, okay?"

Nino didn't speak, leaning back and pulling her back a little to look into her face, clenching his teeth and breathing in before crushing her against him again.

"I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. "I'd never make you cry on purpose B... I love you, you're one of my best friends. I'm really sorry..."

"I love you too Nino..." she said quietly, returning his hug and letting him hold her for a moment before wiggling against his hold, taking a step back and wiping at her eyes.

She stood there, taking deep breathes and rubbing her arms absentmindedly before she made some kind of decision.

She swallowed once before clearing her throat, shaking her head before looking up with a smile, only slightly forced at first but getting more natural the longer she wore it.

"Alright Ninja Turtle," she laughed a little breathlessly, sniffing a bit and holding her arms. "Now that you're done being an ass and I'm done being a wimp... let's just forget about it okay? Me and Adrien-" she hesitated, looking over her shoulder at him who watched, tail flickering as he waited for her to finish her sentence.

She took an extra moment before the smile became natural all together, looking up at Nino with gentle eyes. "Me and Adrien will be okay. And we'll take care of ourselves. Even so..." she paused, looking away as if it was too embarrassing to say to his face. "Thank you for everything..."

Nino was stunned, watching her before looking over at Cat Noir, his friend nodding his head and grinning. "Genuinely," he added from a distance. "Don't know what would have gone down without you pushing us in the right direction."

"Some things are always meant to happen," Nino said without thinking, growing a little self-conscious of himself as he spoke and looking away, trying to play it off. "I just played middleman."

He could feel them both looking at him, then look at each other, but he didn't want to check to see if they were impressed or making fun of him so he just said, "Well like you said let's forget about it. Out of my court now, you losers are on your own."