Chapter Text
"I can't tell you who my crush is, Nino. Even if I wanted to. The fate of Paris, and possibly the world, won't let me."
"Sounding a little dramatic there, dude."
Adrien laid on the floor of Nino's living room, watching the light from the T.V. flicker as Nino played Mega Mash Mofo's . Adrien had lost interest in the game about an hour ago, but Nino was still at it. The clicking sounds from the controler were somewhat soothing to him - he found - so he didn't mind him playing too much. Besides, Nino was a great multi-tasker, and - as much as Adrien would have liked for it to stop at the moment - their conversation continued.
"Ok fine bro," Nino said, his controller still clicking away. "You don't have to say her name if you're too embarrassed. But maybe you could describe her..?" Adrien sighed. Nino was his best friend, and he did feel bad keeping his crush a secret from him. He could at least give him this, embarrassing as it was.
"She's kind... Brave..." Adrien felt a stupid grin forming on his face as he spoke. He couldn't help but to smile like that when thinking of his Lady. " Amazing ..."
"Congrats dude, you just described like, every girl in Paris."
Adrien sat up in objection.
"No, Nino, you don't get it!" he said, grabbing Nino's shoulders and shaking him. Nino chuckled, but his eyes stayed focused on the screen. "She's one of a kind," Adrien insisted.
"Right."
"She lights up the room,"
"Uh-huh."
"She's a superhero!"
"She's a what?" Nino asked, turning to glance at Adrien.
"She's like a superhero, I mean." Adrien blurted, blushing slightly at his slip. Nino rolled his eyes.
"C'mon man," he said, sighing. "You gotta be more specific! What's she like ?"
"Well..." Adrien hesitated. Where would he even begin? "She's always committed to getting the job done, y'know?" Nino nodded his head, and Adrien took it as an indication to continue.
"She's passionate... And driven. And she always puts others first. She can be a little too serious sometimes but I think it's just because she cares so much, y'know?" He paused for a moment, before adding, "But I mean, it's not like she doesn't know how to have fun or anything, she just needs a little help sometimes." Nino nodded stoically, as if he were deep in thought.
"What do you like most about her?" He asked.
"Her smile..." Adrien sighed dreamily. Nino snorted.
"That's obvious."
"Ok, fine. Her eyes."
"Her eyes?"
"She has these gorgeous, striking, baby blue eyes. Eyes that look into your soul." Nino laughed, playfully nudging Adrien with his elbow.
"That's so cliche, man." he said. Adrien pouted. He stood up dramatically, and Nino looked up at him in confusion.
"The way her blue eyes shimmer in the sunlight, the way her pigtails bounce when she moves her head even the slightest bit, the way she smiles…" Adrien felt his face turn red. "I like all of it, okay? I like everything, even if it's cliche. I'm in love with her, dude."
Nino paused his game.
"Bro..." he said, his eyes blinking wide.
"What?"
"Don't freak out, but I know who you're talking about."
Adrien paled. Had he really given it away?
"You do?" he asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"I had a crush on her too, before I met Alya."
Adrien felt his mouth gape. Nino had a crush on Ladybug? Well, it wasn't that surprising. She was kind of a celebrity, after all.
"You did?" he asked anyways.
"It's alright, man," Nino said. He patted the floor next to him, motioning for Adrien to sit. Adrien obliged. "Your secret's safe with me," Nino assured him. "I won't even say her name."
Adrien didn't really doubt Nino's ability to keep a secret. Nino was a good friend, and he would stick to his word. Still, Adrien was hesitant.
"Are you sure we're thinking of the same person?" he asked.
"Baby blue eyes and pigtails? Passionate? Driven? Like a superhero? C'mon, man!"
Adrien grimaced.
"Yeah... I guess that could give it away..."
"Look dude," Nino reached out, putting his hands on Adrien's shoulders. "I'm gonna be real with you. You gotta tell her." Adrien cringed. He had told her, multiple times. She always rejected his advances. Nino seemed to notice Adrien's defeat, and squeezed his shoulders. "Hey," he said, trying to regain his focus. "I have it on pretty good authority that she likes you back."
"Pretty good authority?"
"Bro, it's obvious!" Nino said, breaking away from Adrien and gesturing wildly. "The way she acts around you? Even just her face is a dead giveaway! Have you seen the way she blushes?"
Adrien thought for a moment. Did she act strange around him? He wouldn't be able to tell, even if she did. He wasn't great at reading people, especially not girls. Nino had a girlfriend, though, so maybe he was better at it. But did she really blush around him? The mask obscured her facial expressions at times.
"Not really…" Adrien admitted sheepishly. "But maybe I haven't been looking?" Nino's lips drew into a line.
"You gotta tell her." Nino insisted, though, with a flatness to his voice.
"I've tried!"
Nino's eyes widened with surprise, and subsequently narrowed.
"What does 'try' mean to you?" He asked.
"Well…" Adrien had tried. Many times. Ladybug always shrugged him off. He never really understood what he was doing wrong. He tried with all the Chat in him to be charming and romantic - but it never got through to her. Sometimes, it felt like she took his feelings to be one big joke. "I've flirted, I guess." He said, finally.
"Nah man, girls are dumb." Nino said flatly. "You can't just flirt, you've gotta say it. If you just flirt, she'll overthink it and wonder if you actually like her or if you're just being friendly. You've gotta be direct and sincere."
"Direct and sincere?" Adrien asked. He thought he was being direct and sincere.
"Like…" Nino seemed as if he were struggling to find the words. Adrien couldn't help but to feel like he was a child in this situation, asking the most obvious yet unexplainable questions to an unsuspecting parent.
"Ok, so," Nino finally said. "Don't play it up. Don't crack jokes. Make sure she knows you're being serious, and then tell her how you truly and honestly feel."
Adrien winced. Was he really playing it up? He wasn't meaning to. If he was being honest, he had never really interacted with a girl that he liked before Ladybug. He didn't really know what he was doing.
"You can't be afraid of your feelings, bro!" Nino continued, grasping Adrien's shoulder. "Don't mask them with all the flirtatious stuff. You go up to that girl and you honestly declare your love to her!"
Adrien smiled at his friend's encouragement.
"You can do it, Adrien Agreste!" Nino said, slapping Adrien's back.
“Thank you, Nin-” A thought occurred to Adrien, interrupting his sentence, and his face suddenly fell. "Wait, what did you just say?" he asked.
"Huh? I said-"
"Adrien."
"Uh, yeah." Nino replied, warily. "That's you, dude."
"She likes... Adrien Agreste."
"That's what I said."
Adrien swayed.
"You ok, buddy?" Nino asked, his eyebrows furrowing.
In a sudden burst of energy, Adrien sprinted across the room to the window. He thrusted it open with a heave.
"I'm-sorry-my-father-just-texted-me-and-he-says-I-need-to-leave-like-right-now-for-a-shoot-gotta-go-bye! "
With that, Adrien jumped out the window.
"Bro!" Nino yelled after him. "This was supposed to be a sleepover! It's like 3 AM! Where are you even going?"
Nino gaped as he watched as Adrien dash down the street at mach speed. Adrien didn't respond to his questions. He had to find his Lady. She was probably still out patrolling.