Chapter Text
Nino didn’t give Adrien any warning.
He attacked from behind, grabbing ahold of the model’s bicep and dragging him away from his girlfriend without a word of explanation. Marinette’s confused, indignant expression was almost more amusing than the undignified squeak of surprise that erupted from Adrien’s mouth.
“…the hell? Nino?” Adrien twisted around, trying to break free of Nino’s grip. But damn, Nino could palm a basketball without breaking a sweat, so there was no way was he going to let a little pipsqueak like Adrien escape, not even if the guy had plenty of wiry strength packed into that thin frame of his. Nino had some pride. “What in the world are you—?”
“Nino?” Marinette called. He did not look back. Nothing could knock him off his trajectory, not even his super-hot girlfriend, who approached them with a cocked eyebrow and joined Mari in asking, “What’s going on?”
“Bro night!” Nino announced obnoxiously, mowing Alya right on down, and from behind him, he heard Marinette begin to laugh. “No girls allowed!” he added.
“I give you my blessing, Nino!” Marinette waved cheekily at the pair as Alya, who propped a hand on her hip and shook her head, came up to stand right next to her.
Adrien finally caught his balance and turned back to respond to Marinette. Nino, however, hardly slowed down, causing the blond to stumble forward again. “But Mari!” he whined. “He’s manhandling me! You can’t leave me with him!”
For a moment, Adrien almost sounded like his usual self, and Nino shot a grin over his shoulder at Marinette, who looked unmoved by her boyfriend’s appeal. Instead, she returned Nino’s grin with one that didn’t quite meet her eyes. It didn’t sit well with him, so much so that he couldn’t even muster a reaction when sweet and shy Mari threw Adrien a wink and blew him a hella sassy kiss. “This’ll be good for you, you big baby! Go have fun!”
“Traitoooooorrrrrr,” Adrien bemoaned.
“Have fun!” she reminded him. “And text me later, okay?”
There was a concerned note in her tone, and it did not go unnoticed by either of the boys. Nino could feel Adrien sober in his grip, all energy dissipating in a single, short sigh. Pausing, Nino shot another look back at the girls before focusing on Adrien again. He and Marinette had an uncanny ability to communicate without words, and watching them now, as in sync as they were, that damn sensation of dread, a constant companion these past few days, writhed and curdled in Nino’s gut.
Not for the first time, Nino wondered what the hell was wrong. Because there was no denying something was wrong. Something very, very wrong. The ugly vibe was lingering all over the place lately, and Nino did not like it.
Hence the impromptu decision to kidnap his best friend, rules and schedules be damned.
“You too, Nino!” Alya yelled, throwing an arm around Marinette’s shoulder.
With a will-do wave of his hand, Nino hauled Adrien forward and continued his charge across the school grounds.
Adrien let him, struggling only half-heartedly. “You don’t have to drag me,” he muttered.
Nino raised a brow. “Don’t I? Dude, I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages!”
“What are you talking about? I sit right next to you in class,” Adrien deadpanned.
“Exactly!” Nino said, waving a hand dramatically. “You’re there physically, but you’re not there there, and you and Mari have been splitting right after school to do whatever it is you two do that’s making you so…” There was a word, or rather a collection of them, but Nino gestured toward Adrien in place of the appropriate adjective.
“You just gestured to all of me.”
Nino narrowed his eyes. “You did not just quote that animated movie the twins have playing on repeat at home.” Shaking his head suddenly, he said, “No, not important. You’ve been down in the dump-est of dumps, so I made the executive decision to have a bro night.”
“Not the dump-est of dumps,” Adrien mocked, a teasing note in his tone.
Nino rolled his eyes. He wasn’t buying the act. When he first met Adrien, he’d fall for it every time, but once he started to get to know the kid, he learned Adrien had a tendency to use his dorky sense of humor as a shield, and he used it well. Nino knew better now, and he wasn’t going to accept it and walk away, not this time.
The past few days had been disquieting: the aura Adrien was giving off was no better than a growing funnel cloud, signaling doom and destruction. Something was lingering in the air, staining the horizon, and judging by the lengths Adrien and Marinette were going to hide their secrets, there was nothing Nino could do to help. The very least he could do was conspire with Alya in an effort to help them take their minds off it…and remind them that they were there, no matter what.
“Whatever funk you in, dude,” Nino continued, “it’s not cool.” Adrien stopped in his tracks, and Nino was forced to as well. As Adrien stared at him with intensely vacant eyes, Nino frowned, dropping his friend’s arm. “You’re worrying me, Adrien.”
Adrien’s eyes sharpened, and he cringed. “I’m sorry, I’ve just…” It was obvious he was trying to come up with a good excuse, but in the end, he only shrugged helplessly, exhaustedly, and that, Nino decided, he could let go.
At least the kid wasn’t saying “I’m fine” anymore.
“You’ve just been a stick in the mud,” Nino supplied helpfully, “and you just so happen to have a super awesome friend who knows when to call you out on it. And you also just so happen to think this is an epic idea, too, so let’s go.”
He pressed Adrien forward, turning toward the Agreste mansion and musing aloud about possible Netflix originals they could stream later that night as he went.
Adrien wasn’t listening, Nino could tell. He attempted to tug away, twisting in the wrong direction. “Hey, uh, Nino…”
“Nope, don’t even say it,” Nino warned, suspecting there was an excuse on his friend’s lips. They were going to have fun and forget all this doom-and-gloom stuff and all those weird, telepathic-like looks and all these secrets and all this everything whether Adrien liked it or not.
“But—”
“No buts!” Nino demanded. “You’re going to call Nathalie because she’s pretty cool about doing stuff under your dad’s nose, and you’re going to tell her we have exclusive rights to your room—no disturbances—and then we’re going to order two large pizzas, and we’re going to eat every last slice of them, and—”
“Nino!” Adrien snapped. The momentary flash of hurt Nino had must have been obvious on his face, for Adrien winced, looking ashamed of himself. “Sorry…it’s just…”
Irritation welled inside Nino, and he frowned. “Alright, c’mon, man. I know I sprung this on you last second, but—”
“What?” Adrien waved his hands. “No, no, I’m not making excuses! I want to hang out! I do!” His eyes were wide, expression open and guileless, and Nino’s irritation dissipated as though it’d never been there in the first place. “I think it’s a great idea. I can’t remember the last time we hung out, just the two of us, and I’m sure Mari and Alya need girl time, too! It’s just…” He trailed off, passion dying from his eyes. He looked chagrined, almost afraid, his shoulders folding inward. “…we’re going the wrong way,” he finished weakly.
Nino blinked. “Uh…no, we’re not?”
“Yeah…yeah, we are.”
He stared at his friend as though he’d gone mental before flicking his gaze down the street. Adrien had successfully ditched his bodyguard-driver today, as far as he could tell, but that was no matter because he could see the tippy-top of the Agreste mansion brushing the skyline from where they stood. “Dude, are you feeling okay?” he asked.
If anything, the question made Adrien look even more miserable. He scuffed at the pavement with his shoe and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Taking a deep breath, he avoided Nino’s gaze and said, “I—um…my father is out of the country, and my schedule has been clear for a few days now, so I don’t need to contact Nathalie.”
Nino wasn’t sure if he was more confused or excited when he heard this, but in the end, his usually cheery reaction to the news Adrien’s father was out of town was tempered by deep concern. Normally, Adrien didn’t look like a beaten puppy whenever he delivered news about this sort of thing. Was he usually disappointed? Yes. Resigned? Always. Relieved? Depended on the situation. Happy, even? Sometimes. But this? This was something else.
“Why…didn’t you say so?” he asked uncertainly.
“Well, it’s hard to explain. I’m…I’m at a bit of an odds with my father, not that he’s aware of the fact. At all.” Adrien’s tone had taken on a dark sort of irony, and with a resolute gleam in his eyes, he looked at Nino and finished, “So I’ve been staying with my brother.”
At first, Nino was ready to accept what Adrien just said as a normal, reasonable thing to say. He’d stay with his brother, too, if his dad was a conniving jackass who—
Nino’s thoughts screeched to an abrupt halt. What?
“Hang on,” he said slowly. “Did you just say brother? You don’t have a brother.”
With a nervous smile, Adrien said, “I do.”
Shaking his head, Nino denied, “No, hang on. Seriously.” This was blowing his freaking mind. There was no way he’d missed this crucial fact. None at all. Adrien would have said something. He should have said…
Adrien’s expression screamed guilt.
“You have a brother?!” Nino repeated in a very not-shrill tone. “Since when?”
“Um.” Adrien blinked in a sort of faraway-dazed way. “Since always? He’s nine years older than me.”
“WHAT.”
“Yeah, uh…suuuurpurrrrrise?”
Adrien threw up some dorky jazz hands, and Nino smacked them down. “What do you mean ‘surprise?’” he demanded. “Why the hell didn’t you mention him before now? Why didn’t we…I mean, he’s an Agreste, right? Surely someone knows about him!”
“Well, that’s Félix for you,” Adrien chuckled. “He stays out of the spotlight. He’s not a people-person, either, so he was tailored for finances and business. Behind-the-scenes stuff.”
Something inside him hissed at the word ‘tailored,’ but Nino shook it off, still trying to make one plus one equal two again. “But—” Nino floundered. “I don’t…What?” he asked again. “That doesn’t explain why you never said anything, Adrien! What the hell, man?”
Adrien puffed out his cheeks and blew a small raspberry as the air passed his lips. “Félix and I…had a falling out, about a year before I came to school,” he admitted. “It was—well, it was hard to talk about, so I just…didn’t. We made up recently, so that’s all that matters now.”
There was far, far more to that story, Nino knew without a doubt, but his head was spinning, hardly capable of fulling comprehending the idea of a second Agreste. And an older one at that. One who…
Anger flared, hot and strong. What the fuck was this?! Who did this guy think he was? As an elder brother himself, Nino knew there was one innate rule you simply did not break, no matter how often you fought or how irritated you were: you looked after your little sibs at all costs.
As far as Nino was concerned, this Félix had failed. Horribly. He left Adrien alone. He could have done something to get Adrien out, to get him away from that bastard of a—
All of a sudden, Nino realized it was all too obvious what the story was here. It made sense. Assuming this… brother was a legitimate heir to the Agreste name and taking into consideration the guy was nearly a decade older, he probably got out of that house a long time ago, and it probably hadn’t been an all-too-pretty goodbye.
Regardless, Nino had every intention of giving this guy a piece of his mind. And most likely a sample of his fist, too.
“Hey, Nino…”
Nino snapped his gaze to Adrien, who smiled nervously at him. “You’re not mad, are you?”
“At you?” Nino asked. When Adrien nodded in confirmation, Nino sighed and moderated his wrath. He couldn’t let Adrien feel any guiltier for something that was beyond his control. Because, really, that boy took responsibility for everything that went wrong in others’ lives, as though he were a catalyst of bad luck and poor life decisions, spawned from Chaos himself to destroy everything in his path. Which was ridiculous, of course. There was a mutual responsibility involved in maintaining a relationship, and if one party was not putting their best foot forward, it was no fault of Adrien’s.
Adrien was the type of person who didn’t quite understand that. He was the type to try so hard, to give so much, and to always feel as though he weren’t doing his best, regardless.
It sickened Nino more often than not to think Gabriel Agreste, and now Félix Agreste, had probably taken advantage of Adrien’s kindness and self-sacrificing nature more than once. Actually, no, Nino was more sickened to think that they probably never cared to even notice the effort Adrien put into them. They didn’t deserve such consideration. Not at all.
“Of course not!” Nino exclaimed, his tone a little more snappish than he intended. Adrien looked dubious, and Nino felt it necessary to explain, “I totally get why you didn’t say anything. It’s not like I ever asked, and you already know how I feel about how fucked up your family is. I get it. I do.”
And Nino’s astonishment, the model snorted, a dry and humorless smirk that had no business being on his face teasing the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, I think I’m finally starting realize the level of ‘fucked-up’ we are.”
…Alright.
Yeah, alright. Okay. This was…
No, nope, this wasn’t alright. Nino was going to combust. First a brother, then this!? Never had Adrien ever verbally and directly agreed with Nino about something like this! He’d made excuses, used avoidance techniques and distractions, and only sometimes made bitter remarks about his father’s negligence, often in the form of self-deprecating jokes, but never this.
This was…a break through.
What exactly happened? This was more than being “at a bit of an odds” with his father. Something had changed. A single event, a single thing, had made Adrien—eternally optimistic and forgiving Adrien—observe things through a different lens. There was a reason he reconnected with his brother and made the decision to stay with him, presumably without his father’s permission. There was a bad, bad reason for all of this, and as Nino struggled to tread in the wake of his frickin’ shock, he had the sinking feeling that he wouldn’t be able to fathom it if he dug any deeper.
No wonder the guy’d been acting weird all week.
“Are you coming?” Adrien said suddenly.
Nino started. “I’m sorry?”
Adrien, looking uncomfortable, shifted in place. “Look, Nino, if you don’t—”
“No!” Nino skip-hopped to Adrien and began walking past him, in the opposite direction of the Agreste Mansion. “I’m coming, lezzgoooooo!”
A tentative smile spread across Adrien’s face, and when Nino grabbed his arm as he passed, forcing him to fall into step beside him, he asked, “You’re…you’re really okay with this?”
Nino didn’t answer right away, mostly because he wasn’t sure how to. He had questions upon questions, some he wasn’t even sure he wanted answered, but one thing was for sure: he wanted to sock this stuck-up, abandoning asshole in the face for leaving Adrien in that black hole of a mansion, for making him feel unwanted and neglected, and Adrien could see it in his face. His green eyes begged Nino to understand, even though his question and demeanor made it seem as though he suspected Nino wouldn’t.
And it was…it wasn’t right. Adrien shouldn’t have to feel this way. Adrien shouldn’t have to feel guilty about keeping his own brother a secret. He shouldn’t have had to keep him a secret in the first place, and even if Félix’s existence wasn’t even technically a secret, it was beyond fucked up that Adrien felt like he could never talk about his brother because of whatever it was that happened between them.
Nino tried to consider what it would take for him to stop talking about his twin brothers, step-brothers though they were, and he came up blank. It seemed impossible to him.
“Sure I’m okay with it,” Nino lied. A thought occurred to him, and he grimaced. “But what about your brother? I mean, we could try my place, but I know my step-mom and the twins won’t exactly be…”
“Not a problem.” Adrien waved a dismissive hand. “Félix might be a little antisocial, but he won’t mind. And even if he weren’t okay with it, Bridgette would get on his case in a heartbeat.”
“…Bridgette?”
“Oh! Yeah, sorry, she’s my sister-in-law.” With a little hop to his step and a smile in his voice, he pulled ahead of Nino so that he could walk backwards and face his friend while talking. “Well, future sister-in-law. Sorry. She and Fé have been practically married for as long as I can remember, so that technicality doesn’t really matter to me. She’s great, you’ll love her.”
Nino wasn’t sure which to address first: his evil delight in the fact Adrien called his elder brother something as adorably ridiculous as Fé or his astonishment that this was all truly happening right now, that there was yet another person in Adrien’s life who could have stepped in…but didn’t.
Because holy shit.
He decided not to address either. For his own sanity’s sake.
Now that Nino was in the know, so to speak, and subsequently forgave Adrien for keeping him out of said know, it was like a light had flipped within his friend, igniting an explosion of cheerfulness and excitement. The kid gesticulated and smiled—a true smile, not his polite, model-false one—his entire bearing suggesting a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Nino decided then and there he could deal, for Adrien’s sake. If the kid was happy, he was happy. So he tried not to dwell on the insanity that was these revelations, his rage at the injustice served to Adrien, and any anxiety he had at the prospect of meeting these people and remained engaged as Adrien chattered about Bridgette’s kick ass home gaming center, complete with a wide assortment of consoles and games.
Soon enough, Adrien led him up to an apartment building lined with finely trimmed shrubbery and cute little balconies at every window. It was rather well-to-do, Nino noted, taking in his surroundings as Adrien bounded up a set of stairs, but he couldn’t deny it had charm.
He climbed the stairs after Adrien, and a bitter part of him wondered how it was Félix afforded such a nice place. His disapproval, which knew no bounds before, only grew, but then he saw the welcome mat placed cheekily at the front of Apartment 228 and stared, discomfited beyond belief.
It read: “Hi. I’m Mat.”
…no normal person would have purchased such a thing, let alone left it out for public viewing, if they weren’t related to Adrien after all.
Unaware of Nino’s disconcertment, Adrien bounded straight in through the unlocked door, and after some hesitation, Nino tore his gaze off the stupid mat and followed.
“Bridgette?” Adrien asked. “You here?”
“Adriieeeeen!” an accented voice sang from the kitchen. Nino jumped, nearly tripping over a stack of paperbacks that obviously had not found a home on the entranceway’s loaded bookshelf. “You’re home! Is Mari with you? I need you guys to go over this, and—”
A young woman darted out into the living room, and Nino couldn’t help but stare. She was a beauty, certainly, with toned arms, stormy blue eyes, and long, dark hair pulled up into a high ponytail, but that wasn’t what caught his attention.
She was in a wheelchair.
He didn’t have the opportunity to realize he was being rude before she grinned, placed a huge packet of paper face down on her lap, and wildly wheeled up to the pair of them. “Oh my God, you must be Nino!” she squealed excitedly. She reached for his hand, and rather than shaking it, she took it in both hands and squeezed. Her eyes danced like sunlight on water. “Adrien has told us so much about you!”
“Um…hello, Bridgette,” Nino responded, a little numbly. Oozing awkwardness, he avoided returning the favor and mentioning just how much—or rather, how little—Adrien had told him about her.
“It is so great to meet you.” She beamed at him, squeezing his hand once more, before sliding a sly grin Adrien’s way. “Shame I came out here to greet you, Adrien. I would have most certainly embarrassed you in front of Nino if I’d just kept yelling from the kitchen.”
“Oh?” Nino asked, snorting. Now this—teasing Adrien—was familiar, and as he took in this bright and vivacious woman, he felt himself warm up to her. “Do tell.”
“Well, I could tell you all about mini-Adrien and how he wanted to start fencing because of—”
“Nooooo!” Adrien interrupted, grabbing his friend. “That’s okay. Nino really doesn’t need to hear this story. He’s cool. Right, Nino?”
“Nah, man,” Nino laughed, and Bridgette gave them a grin fit for a cat that just caught its rival canary. “I kinda want to hear this.”
“Hmmm,” Bridgette pretended to think as Adrien lunged at her, hoping to place a hand over her mouth. She wheeled out of the way last minute. “Well, maybe we can finish the story at dinner. It’s much better when Félix tells it, after all. You will be staying for dinner, won’t you?”
She looked so hopeful, so enthusiastic, but as endearing as she was, Nino’s humor faded, and he shot a cautious glance over to Adrien. “I was gonna stay the night?”
If anything, Bridgette’s smile grew. “Well, in that case, I think Adrien needs to apologize for the mess. If I had some warning, I would have cleaned up a bit. And maybe then I would have just so happened to dig up the old photo album.”
Responding to the light rebuke in her voice and the threat of embarrassment, Adrien flushed and said hurriedly, “Can Nino come over? Thanks! Bye!”
Bridgette legitimately cackled as Adrien yanked Nino across the room, down a narrow corridor, and into a bedroom. The bed inside was unmade, blankets and pillows arranged in an open cocoon, and the desk was loaded with papers, several textbooks, and not only an open laptop but an old desktop monitor as well. It wasn’t a cluttered mess by a long shot, but the lived-in feel, the cozy warmth—it was so drastically different from Adrien’s frigid and pristine room at Gabriel Agreste’s mansion that Nino gaped. “This is…”
“A home,” Adrien finished with a dazzling smile. “I like it here.” Placing his backpack on the floor and flopping back on his twin bed, he added, “I’m sorry for not warning you about Bridgette. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“What’re you talking about? You were right. I think I do like her.” And it was true: after meeting her, Nino couldn’t find it in himself to blame her for leaving Adrien in Gabriel Agreste’s clutches. She couldn’t know what went down in that household, and after seeing how she treated Adrien, it was obvious she loved him. The blame, it would seem, laid entirely on Félix’s shoulders now. “She’s…”
“Insane?” Adrien substituted with a chuckle. “No worries. We all think that. But no, I mean, I should have warned you about her chair.”
Oh. So it was obvious he was a little shocked when he saw her. Nino winced. “I hope I didn’t offend her,” he said.
“She doesn’t get offended much,” Adrien said, “So don’t worry about that. You just looked pretty embarrassed, so I’m sorry about not telling you.”
Unable to help his curiosity, he asked, “What happened?”
Adrien’s face darkened, and he sat up, green eyes flashing. “She was caught in that mess two summers ago,” he stated, tone full of controlled fury. “With Typecast.”
Nino’s eyes widened, the name of one of Hawkmoth’s most infamous and destructive villains sending chills down his spine. Alya had so many theories about what happened that day that Nino could hardly keep the real facts straight, but he didn’t need to know fact from fiction to understand Paris was still recovering from the attack in many ways. “No way.”
“She and Félix were in the area. My…” Adrien swallowed, averting his gaze and brow furrowing. “My father had been the one to cause the akuma that day,” he whispered.
Nino did not know what to say, horrified as he was, and he stood silent, little bits and pieces connecting and converging into a big picture. It wasn’t the first time Gabriel Agreste caused an akuma—ha, cheers to being one of said akuma—but these consequences were devastating. Any family would have been torn apart, especially with as dysfunctional a family as Adrien’s.
When Adrien didn’t continue, his angry gaze fixated out the window, Nino decided he had to. He had to be sure. “So that’s why?”
Adrien’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah. That’s why. Félix disowned Father when he found out, quit the company—flat out left—and I…made a dumb choice.” He chuckled weakly. “I chose Father over Félix, and then—”
Feeling nauseous and disgusted with everything in life, Nino shook his head vigorously. It made far too much sense. “You don’t have to say anymore, dude. I think…”
“No, it’s okay,” said Adrien with a grim determination. “I trust you. And I think you need to know. Just in case.”
Nino did not like the sound of that. Not a bit. “…in case of…?”
“It’s getting harder to see the good in him—my dad.” A cynical smile wormed its way onto Adrien’s lips, and Nino felt as though there was a dark joke here he wasn’t quite getting. “It’s harder to excuse and forgive. It just…might not turn out well, that’s all.”
“I got your back, bro,” Nino said automatically. “For better or worse. You know that, right?”
Adrien’s smile became real again. “Thanks, Nino.”
“Ugh,” Nino complained. “Why are you thanking me? You know I don’t like that, and I hate it even more when you give me those fucking kitten eye—Stop that!” he ordered when Adrien exaggerated his wide-and-shiny-eyed expression. “It’s nothing special to stick up for you, you know. That’s what friends do. And when there’s an added bonus of pissing off your dad? Sign. Me. The. Fuck. Up.”
Normally, Nino had a little bit of a better filter, but this was a special occasion, and he was rewarded when Adrien grinned. “Mari thought you’d say something like that.”
“She’s a smart one, that Marinette.”
“The smartest,” Adrien agreed.
“You should listen to her more often.”
“Oh, I know.”
The two lapsed into a weird silence, and as Adrien retreated back within himself, Nino felt increasingly uncomfortable. For good reason, too. He had invited himself over, kinda forced Adrien into discussing a very private issue that really was no business of his own (as he suspected all along), and if that wasn’t enough, this was a crappy way to begin bro night. The point of all this was to prevent Adrien from dwelling and brooding, and it was downright criminal he was sitting here, not quite sure how to snap Adrien out of it.
In the end, there was only one thing to do: Nino stopped fidgeting, manned up, and said, “Well, I’m gonna go see if Bridgette is really as good as you say she is at Overwatch. You coming?”
~…~
Bridgette, as it turned out, was indeed that good at Overwatch. And Halo. And Super Smash Bros. And pretty much everything else. She wiped the floor with their asses.
She was also downright offended when they said they wanted to order pizza and thus decided to take matters in her own hands, proceeding to cook them up a killer Chicago-style deep dish courtesy of a recipe passed down through the American side of her family.
It went without being said that, yeah, Nino did like Bridgette. A lot. And this was decided well before a single delectable slice of heaven even made it to his mouth.
Another thing he learned about Bridgette in the last few hours was that she trash-talked like no other, and subsequently, he learned that Adrien—polite, reserved Adrien Agreste—proved to be quite a match for her. So it was with much amusement that Nino set aside his controller to happily munch on his slice of pizza, watch Adrien and Bridgette try to knock each other off Rainbow Road, and laugh at their incensed cursing and baiting.
In fact, Nino was having such a good time spectating that he nearly jumped out of his skin when the front door shut and the entryway light flicked on.
Bridgette paused the game immediately, resulting in a “what did you do that for, Bug-breath?!” from Adrien, and called over her brother-in-law’s bitching, “Dinner’s over here on the coffee table, Félix!”
Félix.
With a souring taste in his mouth, Nino shifted to face the newcomer, and for a brief moment, he could have sworn Gabriel Agreste had come to join the party. Needless to say, Nino bristled, automatically defensive.
This was the person who allowed that dumb mat to sit outside his apartment door? No. No way.
From his slicked back hair to his fancy shoes, Félix’s entire image and demeanor could only be described as immaculate. He held himself with every bit of straight-backed poise as his father did, and his eyes were just as pale and sharp. Even his smile was reminiscent of Gabriel, small and reserved as it was, but something about it was…No, whatever it was was hidden away as soon as Félix flicked the light back off, casting his entire face into shadow. Without acknowledging Nino, Adrien’s brother placed his briefcase down and crossed the room to give Bridgette a delicate kiss. “Don’t stop playing on my account,” he said in a soft-spoken voice.
“You’re back awfully late, Fé,” Adrien mentioned, shifting toward his brother. “What held you up?”
Félix harrumphed and flopped onto the couch, a seat away from Nino. “Research,” he grumbled. “I was looking into—” Gray eyes suddenly latched onto his, and Nino froze in the middle of a bite of pizza. He would have felt a chill run down his spine had Félix not honest-to-God cocked his head. “There’s a person here.”
Nino inhaled sharply, choking on a piece of pepperoni in the process, but Adrien’s bubble of laughter covered it up. Bridgette, on the other hand, did not miss a beat and teased, “Welcome back to the real world, genius. Bring back any souvenirs from la-la land?”
As Adrien continued giggling, his hilarity growing as he looked between Nino’s expression and his brother’s scowl, Félix rolled his eyes and focused on Nino, an inquisitive gleam in his eye.
And that’s when Nino saw the differences. Whereas Gabriel was characterized by a perpetual apathetic chill, Félix—well, Nino saw the warmth behind his piercing, intuitive eyes. And that wasn’t all. He saw Adrien, too. Though his coloring and composure were of his father, Félix had Adrien’s cheekbones, laugh lines, and expressive eyebrows, characteristics undoubtedly passed down by their mother. The crooked, awkward smile twitching at the young man’s lips, however, was neither Gabriel’s nor Adrien’s but rather something utterly unique to him, something Nino could not help but appreciate as very… human.
This wasn’t quite the monster Nino was expecting, and somehow, that made what Félix did to Adrien seem even worse.
“I’m sorry,” Félix apologized. “I didn’t even see you when I came in.” He scanned Nino as best as he could in the dark, recognition alighting his features a second later. “You’re Nino, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s me,” Nino said.
It was as though Félix read his mind, and though the elder Agreste didn’t say a word, his expression softened, eyes wise. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” he said, offering his hand. After a moment’s pause, a pause that spoke well enough for itself, Nino took it and shook. “I was wondering when Adrien would bring you around.”
Nino merely nodded, eyeing Félix critically. Félix himself met Nino’s accusatory gaze with a calm awareness, almost looking unperturbed by the judgement he was being subjected to.
“Forgive me for not greeting you right away, Nino,” the elder Agreste apologized again. Leaning his head back, he rubbed at his eyes. “It’s been a bit of a long day.”
“And you accuse me of walking around with my head in the clouds?” Adrien teased, beaming as though everything was sunshine and butterflies. He obviously had not noticed the tension between Nino and his brother. “‘There’s a person here?’ Honestly, Félix?”
Without so much as sitting up or opening his eyes, Félix reached over and flicked his brother’s ear in retribution, which was so childish and ridiculous Nino wondered how in the world he could have ever compared this man to Gabriel Agreste, physical appearance aside. When Adrien flinched, hand shooting to the side of his head, Félix smirked. “Respect your elders.”
“I hear you, gramps,” Adrien mocked. “I h-ear you.”
Félix gave his brother a deadpan look. “No need to be irritating, Adrien,” he drawled. “We have a guest.”
“Earritating? Me?” Adrien placed a hand on his chest, looking mortally offended. “But I’m earresistable! Nino, tell him!”
Bridgette threw her face into a throw pillow, groaning in the most theatrical manner she could. Félix himself looked a little pained. As for Nino, it took a moment longer to realize what was going on and complained half-a-beat later, “Oh my God, Adrien, nooooooo.”
“Seariously, Nino?” Adrien asked. “I thought you’d stand up for me!”
“Yes, seriously! That wasn’t even a good one! And don’t pout. What’re you, a child?”
There was a delighted gleam in Adrien’s eye, his pout disappearing immediately. “So you do admit there are clearly some good ones!”
Realizing his mistake, Nino decided he needed to stomp that thought from his head straightaway. “I said no such thing!”
“Aw, c’mon, Nino.” Adrien leaned over the arm of his chair, grinning in Nino’s face. “Isn’t there anything that can endear you to my jokes? What about you, Bridgette?”
Bridgette made a rude gesture at the same time Nino said, “Dude, I will walk out.”
“Uh-oh, it appears I hit a few nearves.”
Nino reached over and shoved Adrien back into his seat. “Do you have an off button?”
Félix snickered at that one, but it had no effect on Adrien, who responded, “I fear not, my friend. When will you learn there’s no stopping genius?”
“Stahhhhp. ‘Leern’ isn’t even a word! And neither is 'nearve!' Turn it off. Please.”
The paused Mario Kart screen suddenly flickered, drawing both boys’ attention. Bridgette waggled the controller in her hand, and Nino realized she’d reset the game.
“Bridgette!” Adrien protested. “What’d you do that for?”
“Well, Nino did say ‘please.’”
“But I was winning!”
“In your dreams,” she scoffed.
“You just don’t want to admit it.”
“You were being obnoxious,” Félix said casually, grabbing a fresh plate from the coffee table and helping himself to a piece of pizza. He looked far too smug. “It was the only way to get you to shut up.”
“…Rude.”
Bridgette laughed, wheeling over to ruffle Adrien’s hair. “We’ll have a rematch some other time. I’ve intruded on you two for long enough, so you and Nino go ahead. Félix and I will be in our room, chit-chatting.”
Adrien sobered immediately, a serious and attentive expression on his face as he studied Bridgette and then his brother. Standing, Félix smiled and shook his head almost imperceptibly, and Nino, whose sense of dread had abated over the past few hours, felt his gut swoop again. He had the overwhelming realization, somehow, that he was interrupting something, and the sense of wrongness that came with the realization made his scalp prickle.
What the fuck is going on in this family?
Gabriel Agreste was at the pinnacle of it all. That much was obvious. Despite that one certainty, Nino could only speculate as to why, and his mind began spinning conspiracy theories even Alya would shake her head at.
But then again, he couldn’t help that he had the awful, awful feeling Adrien was getting involved in something super dangerous. He also couldn’t help that all the evidence pointed to the fact Gabriel Agreste’s assumed transgressions transcended neglect and crossed into the downright criminal arena of wrongdoing.
Félix’s eyes were on him again, and Nino clenched his jaw. Adrien, for his part, must have found Félix’s nonverbal response satisfactory, for he smiled back. “Alright,” he said, returning his attention to the game. “See ya.”
“See ya,” Nino parroted reflexively.
Bridgette and Félix, both bearing more food, retreated down the tiny corridor to the first room on the right, and Nino found himself watching their door even after Adrien challenged him to play the All- Cup Tour.
~…~
“Nino?”
Nino nearly jumped out of his skin, dropping his phone on his lap. It was well past midnight, and Adrien had just gone with Bridgette to scrounge up some old pajamas and extra bedding. Nino had not even realized Félix was hovering nearby. “Christ, dude,” Nino hissed. “You scared the shit out of me.”
Félix blinked and offered his awkward smile. “My mistake.” A pause. “May I speak with you?”
“Um…” Nino’s gaze slid in the direction of Bridgette and Félix’s room. “Adrien—I think he’ll be back in—”
“He’ll be distracted for a little while,” Félix interrupted. “He’s probably grilling Bridgette now that he has a chance to do so.”
Taken aback, Nino blinked dumbly. This guy…wasn’t even going to try to hide the fact that something was going on?
Just hours ago, Nino had gotten the feeling Félix could see right through him, maybe even read him as easily as he could book, so maybe it wasn’t so strange that he knew Nino knew something was going on. What was strange was that he elected not to treat Nino like a child and pretend otherwise.
Odd…but appreciated. It almost made Nino respect the elder Agreste, if only for his blunt honesty.
A fond smile graced Félix’s lips. It was such a foreign expression on Gabriel Agreste’s face that it looked superbly odd on Félix’s simply by default. He leaned against the wall, not quite meeting Nino’s eyes. “He’s a little too curious for his own good sometimes.”
Nino snorted in disbelief. “Sometimes?” Shaking his head, he smirked, realizing that the same could be said of himself in this particular instance, and against his better judgement, he said, “Never mind. What did you need to say?”
Félix looked uncomfortable for just a moment, but a strong resolve settled over his features. “Thank you.”
Nino unfurled his crossed arms, unsure how to take this. “Um…what?”
“You have every reason to dislike me,” he said slowly, “for what I’ve done to Adrien. I don’t expect this to change anything, and I know better than to make excuses and try to change your impression of me. There are no excuses to give.”
The expanse of silence grew between them before Nino realized Félix was waiting for some sort of response. All he could offer was a quirked brow and a lame: “…Okay?”
“Right. Well... I wanted to thank you,” Félix said softly, “for looking out for my brother when I coul—no. Not couldn’t. Wouldn’t.” Nino didn’t respond, and Félix’s gaze did not falter when he added, “I didn’t deserve his forgiveness. I still don’t, and—”
“He’s a better person than you are,” Nino stated in a forceful tone, narrowing his eyes.
“He’s always been,” agreed Félix, not at all offended by Nino’s insinuation. “And I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to him.” Looking amused, he suddenly asked, “Why would that surprise you?”
Nino realized he wasn’t being nearly as stoic as he wanted to be and recomposed himself. “You are not what I expected,” he said simply.
But in all honesty, it was anything but simple. Ever since he stepped through Félix and Bridgette’s threshold and over that dumb welcome mat, it’d been one surprise after another, his impressions and values challenged in ways he couldn’t have foreseen. It would have been so much simpler to hate and resent and blame, but here Nino stood, feeling another reluctant surge of respect for the very person whose nose he swore he’d break. It didn’t help that he felt as though he didn’t have to hold anything back, that he could be as upfront and direct with Félix as he wanted to be. He couldn’t even say that of his own father, to whom Nino told almost everything.
Even still…
“Certain Agrestes,” Nino explained, “don’t know when to admit they’re in the wrong…and refuse to be held accountable for the consequences of their actions.”
It was a bit of a low blow, and it was probably also extraordinarily insensitive considering what happened to Bridgette. Sure enough, Félix tried and failed to keep a scowl from his face when he responded, “I’ve spent my whole life trying to prove to myself and everyone else that I’m not Gabriel Agreste.”
“Yeah, well, you did a poor job of that the last two years.”
There wasn’t much heat to his words. In fact, Nino’s inflection was quite matter-of-fact, but ironically enough, Félix winced as though deflecting a physical blow. “There isn’t a day that goes by,” he murmured, “that I don’t wish I could go back and change what happened. If I had done things differently…well.” Félix went to clasp his hands behind his back but caught himself last minute and instead ran his thumb over the middle digit of his left hand. “If I had, then maybe no one would have gotten hurt. Maybe Adrien wouldn’t have needed to forgive me in the first place. But then again, maybe if things had been different…Adrien wouldn’t have met Marinette. Or Alya.” Gray eyes locked onto Nino again. “Or you.”
Adrien was staring from the earnest face of his older brother, who was giving him a look of such deep gratitude, it made Nino feel self-conscious all over again. Mind numb, he almost wanted to finally ask what in the world Adrien had said to Félix and Bridgette about him, but instead, he found himself running over Félix’s words and realizing what they truly meant.
Félix would be willing to sacrifice his own relationship with Adrien again and again if it meant his little brother got to keep the friends he made.
Stunned, Nino blurted, “You believe everything that’s happened—it all happened for a reason?”
Félix shrugged. “I’m not sure of anything anymore,” he admitted. “But after all’s said and done, it doesn’t matter. Regardless of how you feel about my part in all this, you’ve done more for Adrien than you know. So thank you, Nino. Truly.”
…Oh no. No, no, no. Nope. Not him too. Not a chance in hell. That—that was the third time he’d said thank you? And he was only just registering it? No, Nino would not stand for it.
"What is it with you two?” he asked, almost in desperation. “Thanking me for being a decent human being? For making friends like a normal person? It’s almost as though you both believe you’re one big inconvenience to others, and that’s just so…sad. Your dad fucked you both up real bad.”
Félix stared at him for a moment before snorting and beginning to quake with uncontrollable laughter. Adrien and Bridgette, obviously not used to Félix losing his cool in such a manner, actually popped their heads out of the first bedroom. Concern encroached on their incredulity as they peered around the threshold. When Félix saw their reactions, he just shook his head and waved them back. They did so with exaggerated hesitance.
“I needed that,” Félix said after regaining his composure. “Good one, Nino.”
“…You do realize you proved my point, don’t you?”
Felix just chuckled. “Well, if you won’t accept thanks from either of us, ‘fucked up’ as we are, then please know that, as far as Bridgette and I are concerned, you’re already family.”
Um...what? What just…happened?
The moment Nino thought the day couldn’t get any stranger, or drop anymore bombshells at him, he was proven wrong. Wasn’t he just being passive-aggressive af just now? Even if a part of him couldn’t help but feel somewhat touched, he rejected Félix’s invitation immediately. Besides, what had he done to deserve that trust or that acceptance but stare at a wheelchair, play a few video games, mooch off some food, and throw shade?
Considering all that, Nino realized he probably hadn’t made the most impressive first impression either, but looking at Félix and feeling…less resentment than before, Nino wondered if some first impressions were overrated after all. There was an undeniable bond between those who cared about the same people, Nino realized, and if there was one thing he and Félix shared, it was Adrien. They might not agree, they might even dislike each other, but when it came down to it, the most important thing was that Adrien was happy, that he felt loved and wanted and the opposite of everything he felt at that rotten mansion.
Perhaps, then, it wasn’t too late to give Félix another shot.
Nino folded his arms again. “You still have a lot to make up for, you know, even if Adrien’s already forgiven you,” he reminded Félix bluntly. “I’m not sure if I like you.”
“Not many do,” Félix said. “Regardless, you’re always welcome here, Nino.”
Nino took in ‘here,’ with its crocheted blankets and leaning stacks of books and papers, with its cords, wires, and knick-knacks, with its warm comfort and friendly atmosphere, and remembering Adrien’s smile when he described it as home, Nino found himself beginning to smile too.
Adrien felt safe here. He felt loved, appreciated, cared for here.
“Well,” Nino said slowly, responding in the only way he knew how: by poking fun. “In that case…I guess I’m okay with that, so long as Mat is okay with it too.”
Félix blinked. “…I’m sorry?”
Nino snorted. “Oh my God, dude. That stupid welcome mat Adrien gave you?” he prompted, rolling his eyes and smirking. “If you’re going to leave something that disgraceful on your doorstep, you better believe I’m not going to let it go.”
Realization dawned on Félix, and he said, “Oh. Adrien didn’t give that to us.”
Nino’s smirk dropped. “What?” he asked in disbelief. Recalling Bridgette and Félix's reactions when Adrien was making ear puns, he couldn’t fathom who…
There was an unmistakable flush of embarrassment creeping up Félix’s cheeks, and Nino began to grin. “You?” he asked, the wicked glee in his voice unmistakable.“Fé!”
“Don’t call me that,” Félix snapped, and now that the touchy-feely stuff was out of the way, Nino saw a side of Félix he must have been keeping at bay out of politeness’ sake. ‘Surly’ was a good word to describe it. Earlier, Adrien had used the word ‘antisocial.’ Either way, it just made Félix’s attitude that much more amusing. “The mat was an impulse buy. I saw it about a year ago and thought Adrien would—”
He cut himself off, pursing his lips, but Nino just kept on grinning. “Did Adrien like it?”
“Of course he did,” Félix muttered. “The dork was laughing about it for a whole week after he saw it.”
“I bet Bridgette can’t stand it.”
“She most definitely can’t stand it,” Félix agreed.
The ‘But it was so worth it’ went unsaid, and it wasn’t until after Adrien bounded from Bridgette and Félix’s room, smiling and bearing fresh pajamas, that Nino realized he might have just bonded with Félix Agreste over a pun-y welcome mat.
…What a concept.
As Nino made his way into the bathroom to change, he watched Félix slide over to mutter something into Adrien’s ear, and Nino’s creepy-crawly feeling returned. The brothers’ interaction reminded him that there were still a million things that were straight-up wrong—ranging from Gabriel Agreste’s maybe-illegal activities to whatever secrets his sons, Bridgette, and Marinette were keeping—but in the end, Nino figured that meeting Adrien’s true family and giving Félix Agreste a second chance wasn't two of them.