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Adrien smiles as he walks through the door of the mansion. He’d spent the afternoon with his friends at the park. And, as childish as it may seem, pointing out shapes in the clouds brought plenty of laughs.
The smile on his face is instantly replaced with fear as his father stops him in the hallway. “Adrien. We need to talk. Come to my office.”
Adrien’s heart hammers in his chest as they walk in complete silence, other than their footsteps echoing off the high walls.
Adrien shakes as he takes a seat. “What is it, Father?”
Gabriel simply pulls out a folder and slides it across the desk. “What is the meaning of this?”
Adrien fumbles with the clasp and shakily takes out some photos. His heart drops as he realizes what they are.
Fuck.
This can't be happening. His father shouldn't have these pictures; there's no way he could've gotten access to them, unless...
Oh.
Adrien's blood runs cold as he realizes that these pictures had all been taken at a bird’s eye view. They hadn't been posing. They certainly hadn't been aware that there was a camera watching them in the first place.
Which means these were paparazzi photos that had been taken without their consent. And, judging from how these pictures seemed to be ripped straight out of an article, it seems that the only reason his father had gotten a hand on them is because they'd been published.
Published pictures of him and Nino, kissing, floating all over the internet for everyone to speculate about.
They aren't ready. Neither of them are even out to anyone besides a few of their classmates. But now Adrien's father knows, now the entire media knows, and it's all his fault. Because he's a celebrity. Because of course they were going to have paparazzi following them around and he should've known better.
He fights the urge to cry as he whispers, "Father, I—"
"Quiet!" Gabriel slams his hands on the table. Adrien flinches; his chest feels too tight too tight too tight—
"Are you really tarnishing the brand's name with this ridiculous act? Is this something they teach you at school? To be a disgrace ? Answer me!" he demands.
His blood is boiling, and something inside of Adrien snaps as he yells, "There's nothing wrong with this! There's nothing wrong with me , and if you see one, then you're the one who needs help! They teach us kindness and acceptance , which clearly isn't something you're familiar—”
He's cut off by a burning slap against his cheek.
"You need to quit this. Now . This type of behavior is disgusting."
Adrien reels backwards, tears spilling from his eyes as his fingers graze over the spot Gabriel had hit him. He's never seen his father like this - so angry, so full of malice, so ready to hurt his son in ways Adrien had never imagined he would.
He can't stand it. He can't think. He can barely breathe. This is his worst nightmare come true.
And so he turns on his heel and runs out of the office. Adrien ignores the way his father calls after him, ignores Nathalie trying to step in his way, ignores how the Gorilla yelps in surprise as he runs to his bedroom. He desperately swings the door open, transforms into Chat Noir, and throws the window open before jumping out. His destination is clear as he bounds from rooftop to rooftop; his only thought is I need to get away.
All too soon he's at a familiar apartment outside a familiar window. Chat Noir perches outside and reaches out a hand to knock, but he doesn't have to. Nino is already there, opening his window and letting Chat fall into his embrace.
He sobs and lets go of his transformation as Nino runs a hand through his hair. “I’m here, Adrien. I’m right here, I’ve got you.”
Adrien leans into the comfort of his boyfriend’s touch, his breath against his skin and steady heartbeat under his ear.
His tears slowly stop running down his cheeks, and he murmurs his thanks into Nino's neck.
“Of course, dude. I’m always going to be here for you. You wanna talk about what happened?”
“I- my dad- he knows about us,” he manages to choke out.
Nino stiffens, pulling back from their embrace for a moment to meet Adrien's gaze, but Nino pulls his boyfriend immediately back into his arms the second he sees the distress on Adrien's face. Nino's grip tightens protectively around him.
"T-There w-were paparazzi when we went... w-went out the other day, a-and they saw us, and now everyone knows and i-it's"— Adrien pauses to hold back a sob — " my fault."
"It's not your fault, dude," Nino murmurs as he strokes his hair. "You couldn't have known. and--wait, fuck," he mutters, "if you're here now... your father... did he-"
Nino doesn't even have to wait for Adrien to say anything. The second he feels Adrien shudder in his embrace, Nino knows.
“If he can’t see past his prejudiced views, then that’s on him. Not you, okay?” Nino presses a kiss to his forehead. “We'll call the girls in the morning and make a plan. We can get a place together, if you want. You turn 18 soon...”
Adrien relaxes as Nino goes on; his voice has always been soothing. And sure, he’s still afraid of what will happen when he inevitably has to face his father again.
But right now? He’s in Nino’s arms. He's safe here with his boyfriend.
He is loved here, and that’s what’s important.